On Set
by katierosefun
Summary: This is a behind the scenes fanfiction on Austin and Ally: Laura had been crushing on Ross for a while now, and Ross had like Laura from the beginning, too. But how wil these two people be able to come together if they are both to shy to admit it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fellow Austin and Ally fans! I am the hyper and the amazing KATIEROSEFUN! (Actually, I'm not that amazing, but let's just go on with the game and pretend that I AM amazing. Let's also pretend that I am a totally great writer. *AGAIN, I DON'T THINK I AM, but you will be the judge of that*) Anyways, this is a story that I made (duh) and I really hope that you A&A shippers will like it. Here's the thing though: This story is not about AUSTIN AND ALLY, but it's about ROSS AND LAURA. YOu are behind the scenes of Austin and Ally, watching Laura crushing on Ross and Ross crushing on Laura. Thier POV's will be seperate in this story, so you will be seeing Ross and Laura's side of the story. Some of this info is fake, like Ross and Laura's ice cream preferances (read the chapter to see what I mean, hint hint) and such. I DO NOT OWN ROSS OR LAURA OR CALUM OR RAINI OR AUSTIN AND ALLY IN GENERAL! (Although, who wouldn't want to own them? +sigh+) I think I wasted enough of your time so on you go! Please review, no hater comments allowed. Thank you so much! :) Katierosefun out! 3**

Chapter 1.

Laura-

"...And CUT!"

I jerked away from Ross and saw our director waving his arms frantically in the air. "Ross, you're character is supposed to be KISSING Laura for the first time! Make it real! Make it heartwarming! Make it...magical!" I giggled as Ross rolled his eyes at him. "Come on, Director. We replayed this moment about twenty times, it's kind of hard to get it 'magical' when we're being filmed by five cameras and repeating the kiss twenty times!" The director flapped his papers around. "Austin Moon likes Ally Dawson! Act like it!" Ross sighed and looked at me. I shrugged. "I don't get why we have to do this...I mean, we're just friends! And the director knows that!" Ross whispered to me. I felt a punch in my stomach and swallowed. I forced a smile. "Yeah, that's right. We're just friends, I mean, can you imagine us dating? Puh-leaze!" I laughed nervously.

"Action!" The director screams.

Ross looked at me and he leaned in. I closed my eyes. I could smell his cologne, and hear the soft puffs of breath that was coming out of his mouth in steady breaths. I know what you're thinking: Ew. Why the heck are you focusing on Ross' breath, Laura?

It's rather simple. I've had a crush on Ross ever since we met to act on Disney's show 'Austin and Ally'. I mean, the way his blond hair swept across his forehead, how his brown eyes eyes sparkled, the way his smile was playful and sweet was just the basic flashing sign in my head reading 'MAJOR CRUSH!' So of course, ever since, I've been paying attention to every single thing that Ross was like. It's not creepy or stalker-ish. It's just very very focused and intensive research.

Anyway, Ross closed his eyes and I smiled to myself. He couldn't possibly see me smiling, and the cameras were focused on the back of me. The kiss would be fake, of course, but just the fact that Ross was standing this close to me...was special.

"And...we got it!" The director shouted and we moved away. Raini, a friend of mine who plays as Trish in the show, gave me thumbs up as I walk to her. She bumped me on the shoulder. "That was flawless, Laura. The only thing we needed was a REAL kiss and perhaps Ross confessing how much he loves you." I smiled. Since Raini was my friend, she knows that I liked Ross. Ever since, she has been trying very hard to get Ross and me together, very much like her own character in the show. Calum, the guy who plays as Dez crept up behind Ross. "That was awesome, buddy!" He said enthusiastically. I smiled. Calum was known for having a positive attitude, and he was a great person to be around when bad things happen. We're all good friends, and we hang out whenever we can. I always found it so strange, you know, because most actors would act like friends on the camera when really, they just sullenly regard each other in real life. It's really lucky for me that we get along well. "Come on, let's get ice cream!" Raini said and tugged at my arm. "Money is on me." I smiled and we ran to the shop. Raini did a quick order of all of our flavors. "Don't forget my chocolate ice cream!" Ross yelled over the hubbub of the store. Raini rolled her eyes at him. "With a cone!" Raini walked over to him and placed her hands on her hips. "Who the heck do you think I am, a waitress?" Ross shrugged. "Well, in the episode 'Diner and Daters'…" Raini punched but Ross laughed. "Shut up, you." She went up to the front. "Laura, what do you want?" I blinked out of my thoughts and looked up. "Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I should have um, vanilla, in a cup." Raini nodded and ordered at the counter. She brought back our ice cream steadily, balancing on a tray with all of our orders. Calum snatched a rather large cone of chocolate, mint, and peanut butter ice cream with sprinkles and took a humongous lick of it. I watched him, fascinated by how he could have so much ice cream. His chin dribbled with peanut butter ice cream. I grimaced. "Dude, that is so _gross. Awesome_, but gross." Ross laughed. I rolled my eyes at him. Boys. Ross gave me a toothy smile and continued talking to Calum.  
Raini set the tray down. "Hey Ross, sorry, but the lady said that they ran out of cones, so I put yours in a cup." Raini set down the small cup next to him. "And another thing…the ice cream _kinda _got mixed into Laura's." I caught Raini's eye and she winked at me. My heart fell. I knew what she was up to, and I don't think I was going to like it.

Raini pulled out two spoons and gave each of us one. She gave Ross and me a playful smile and announced that we were going to have to share. Ross turned pink and said, "It's okay…I can just get another ice cream." Raini crossed her arms. "Look Ross, I got that stinking ice cream for you, so you are going to have it with Laura whether you like it or not!" I forced a smile. "Raini, can I speak to you for a second?" I asked through gritted teeth. Raini shrugged and stood up. I grabbed her arm and we ducked into the bathroom. "Why did you do that?!" I screamed. Raini covered her ears. "Yeesh, Laura, it's not a big deal." I felt my face flushing. "It is a big deal! What if Ross knew I liked him? What if he doesn't like me? And making us have the same ice cream together? I mean, it's romantic and cute, but that's why I hate it!" I stepped back, taking deep breaths. My friend's eyes widened and she put up her hands in surrender. "Look, Laura, I'm sorry, but I honestly thought that you should at least try to you know, make a move. It's high time you at least TRY to get your relationship going." I rolled my eyes. "There is nothing going on between him and me. I mean, he just thinks of me as a friend." Raini shook her head. "Well, we're never going to find out until you guys have your first romantic-or at least, the slightest romantic moment together!" Before I properly knew what was going on, Raini had shoved me out the door and into my seat. Ross looked up. "Hey." He smiled and I felt my tongue get twisted. "Um..hi." My voice came out all shaky and weak. 'Laura, focus.' I thought to myself. 'You guys have been friends for a while. Try not to screw up.' "You okay, Laura? I thought I heard you yelling in there." My face turned warm. "Uh…_yeah_ I was screaming because…" I looked around for inspiration to make up a reason. "There was a spider in the bathroom." Raini butted in. I sighed in relief quietly. Ross chuckled. "Scared of spiders, huh?" Ross says mischievously. "I'm never going to forget that." I giggled and dug my spoon into the ice cream. Ross put his spoon in and looked at me.

"So, how about that scene today?" He asked. I groaned. "I thought it was never going to end." I said. Ross stood up on his chair and imitated the director's voice. "MAKE IT MAGICAL! NO, IT IS NOT UNNATURAL THAT YOU ARE BEING FILMED!" I laughed. "Come down here, director boy." I said playfully. Ross smiled and ate another bite of his ice cream. He waggled his eyebrows at me. "Would you find the kiss magical?" I almost choked on my ice cream. 'Omigod, he knows.' I thought nervously. Ross took one look at me and laughed. "I was only joking, Laura." I swallowed my ice cream. "I knew that." I say. I avoided looking at Ross in the eye. Ross laughed again. "Yeah, right." Ross leaned in and pulled at a strand of my hair. I felt a rush of joy and tried to keep my smile tucked away in my mind, but I grinned anyway. "Laura." I looked up at Ross. His laughter was gone from his face. His eyes were deadlocked into mine, deep and serious. We were face to face. He took a deep breath and said, "I've been wondering…"

CLANG!

The door to the ice cream shop opened up and in came in came Adeline Smith. She had perfect dark chocolate brown hair that was of course, perfectly straight without any frizz of any sort. She had the iciest blue eyes that made me feel cold and drowning all the time. Her flawless skin was completely tanned without any blemishes or freckles.

I hated her.

The first day we met, I gave her the sunniest smile I could and told her I was glad to meet her. Adeline just looked at me like I was gum stuck at the bottom of her high heel and just tossed her hair back. She didn't say anything to me; she just walked around and gabbed away on the phone. Then, when I introduced her to Ross, Adeline shoved past me and went all giggly and flirty, which is what most girls do when they see Ross. I mean, you would think that I'm used to it by now, since whenever we walk around, there's always a mob of fans, (mostly girls,) and they get crazy. But fans are totally different from Adeline. Fans are happy and cheery and sweet, Adeline was the exact opposite. Anyways, so Adeline was practically trying to drape herself over Ross, and he gently scooted her away from him. I mean, he was polite and everything, but I could see in his eyes that he was freaking out.

"ROSS, HI!" I winced as Adeline's screeching voice brought me back down to earth. Ross looked at me and mouthed, 'Help me.' I smiled sympathetically at him as Adeline walked over to our table. Ross forced a smile. "Hey Adeline, nice to see you around." Adeline grinned and tossed her hair. "I know, right? I was looking all over for you, and then your director told me that you guys would probably be here." Ross shot a panicked look at me. "Oh…really?" He says weakly. Adeline nodded. "Isn't that so fantastic of him?" Ross gave a halfhearted thumb up. "Anyways, thanks for coming, Adeline. It's great to see you, but maybe we should talk next time. I'm kinda busy right now." Adeline pouted, which I suppose was meant to look cute, but she just looked like a duck. And I do not mean the adorable fuzzy ducks that you see on Easter, but the mean, annoying duck that snaps and honks at you every single time you try to get to the pond. "Really? You're busy? With what? Hanging out with your…friends?" Adeline gestured to me. I looked down at the ground. Raini scowled and stepped up to Adeline. I grabbed Raini's hand and pulled her back down. "You shouldn't be hanging out with these people. It'll ruin your rep." With that, Adeline took out some lip gloss from her purse and slicked it over her mouth.

Ross shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Thanks for the tip Adeline, but I think I'm pretty cool with my friends right now." Adeline pursed her lips. "Of course you do, sweetie. But you can't trust them." With that, Adeline gave one last sweet smile and headed out the door with a snap.

I unfroze and stood up. "Who the heck does she think she is?" I yelled. Calum shrugged. "It's okay you guys, Adeline is just silly. Besides, we all know that Ross isn't that kind of friend." Ross nodded. "You guys know that I wouldn't do something like that!" He protested. I put up my hands in surrender. "We got it, Ross. We know that you wouldn't ditch us, or suddenly think that we're freaks and go be with Adeline or whatever." Raini crossed her arms. "Why are you so nice to Adeline?" She asked Ross, her eyes narrowed. "I mean, you're a great guy and everything, but you don't need to pretend that you're at least willing to hang out with her. Or breathe the same air as her. Or be on the same planet as her!" Ross shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I feel bad for her that she's not really well liked." I raised an eyebrow. "Ross, she's got tons of fans, not to mention all of the followers she has on about every social network." Ross shrugged again. "I just don't want to hurt her feelings." I nodded. "I guess I can understand that." I say and sat back down in my seat. I looked down at the ice cream and found that it was melted halfway and already in a gooey, gloppy mess in the bottom of the cup. I stirred it sadly with my spoon. Ross drummed his fingers on the table. "Ross?" I ask him quietly. He looked up at me. "Yeah, Laura?" He responds. "What were you going to ask me before Adeline came in?" It might have been the fact that Adeline was being annoying or that I was just imagining things, but it looked as though Ross' cheeks were turning red. "Yeah, that was nothing. I forgot. I'll tell you tomorrow. Or maybe later. You know what? I think I'll just tell you later, I mean, I don't think I'll have time to tell you tomorrow." He stood up, took one more bite of ice cream. "Gotta go, you guys! See you tomorrow!" I stared quizzically at his back and continued to stir my ice cream.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey hey! So, I know I said that I would update really soon, but then it ended up being a little bit later than I thought. My original plan was to update the story on Friday or Saturday, but I had to go somewhere on the weekend at the last second, so I wasn't able to complete the chapter and post it, sorry. :( Anyways, here we go onto Chapter 2, where Ross will have his POV! Don't forget to review, and as always, no hater comments allowed. Thank you very much! ;)**

Chapter 2.

Ross—

"ARGH!" I flopped on my bed and replayed the moment in my head. I flushed and tugged at my hair. I turned around and punched my pillow as hard as I can; only ending up missing and hitting my bed board instead. "Youch!" I yelped and massaged my hand. Why did I do that? I sounded so stupid! Laura must be thinking that I'm so sort of weirdo or something. Why was it so complicated?! I stood up and ran around my room to calm myself down. That didn't work. I collapsed onto the floor and put my head in my hands. I repeatedly bopped my head in my palm until I was sure that I may have lost more parts of my brain than I realized. I spent the rest of the hour wandering around in my room and laying on my bed, staring into space.

I guess I should explain why on earth I'm acting like a little five year old.

The truth is, I've kinda liked Laura for a while and I don't know how to explain in to her. She's just so…comfortable. That's the word. Comfortable. She was sweet and everything, and when I heard her laugh and saw her smile, I knew I was a goner. I couldn't stop thinking about her after that. I tried to get her to smile, to have a chance to make her giggle or something. I really do love it when she giggles. It wasn't one of those girly, fake giggles, but a strong, sincere kind of laugh that made me feel good all around. Laura is just so beautiful…but I'm not even sure if she thinks of me the same way as I think of her.

Does she?

I can't even have the courage to ask her if she could come with me to watch a movie by ourselves or something. 'Austin Moon' I think wistfully. My character in the show would have asked Laura right on the spot, no sweat. But me? I'm still the shy guy, the guy who plucks at his guitar with his family. If only I was able to talk to Laura without feeling so tied up…

I was so lost in thought I almost didn't notice my phone vibrating in my pocket. My hands shuffle forward and I make a tiny embarrassing squeaky noise in the back of my throat. Laura was calling me! I took a deep breath and accepted the call.

"Hey Laura." I say, hoping for my life that my voice wasn't as pathetic as it sounded. "Hey Ross, are you okay?" I heard Laura ask from the other end of the phone. I could almost hear the concern in her voice. It's a good thing that I can only hear her and not see her, because if I did, I'm pretty sure I would have lost my cool right there. "Yeah, I'm fine." I responded and paced around my room, which is the basic procedure that I do whenever Laura calls me. "Are you sure?" She asked. "You were acting really strange." I cleared my throat. "Yeah well, I was still kind of shaky over the scene that we were recording." I heard Laura laugh. I felt my heart rise a little. "You? Nervous? I thought I was going to faint in that part!" She giggled. I laughed too and felt a warm feeling spreading from my head to my toes. "'Make it MAGICAL!'" I boomed in my best director voice. Laura laughed even harder. I smiled to myself. I could listen to her laugh all day and I would never get sick of it.

When Laura finally caught her breath, she said, "You'll never guess where I am right now." I shrugged. "You're at your hotel room wondering what the heck is going through my head?" I could picture in my mind perfectly of Laura smiling. "That's close, Ross. I'll just let you know." She hung up. I looked, puzzled at my phone. Did she get cut off? What happened? I pressed redial but the call went straight to voice mail. I heard my doorbell ring and my heart leapt. I opened it and Laura smiled at me. "I told you I would let you know." She stepped in and I caught a waft of vanilla and strawberries in her hair. I never thought about how good strawberries smelled until now. I blinked a couple of times. "Ross, don't lose it." I whispered firmly to myself and followed Laura. She went into my room and plopped herself on my bed. "Wow, it looks like you had a fight in here." She said, amazed. I tried to keep my face from turning red. I shrugged. "Well, my bed is always like that." Laura grinned. She sighed, contented. For a while, all was quiet. I focused on looking out the window and watching the clouds go by. My eyes drifted over to Laura and I quietly drank in her image that she was standing…in my room. A strand of her chocolate brown hair curled over her ear, and the rest of it was bunched into a ponytail. Her eyes were warm with a soft light of sunshine reflecting in them. She was wearing simple jean shorts and a red t-shirt, but she looked, well, GOOD in them. She turned to me and grinned. "Nice weather, huh?" I blinked and realized that I was staring at Laura for a solid ten minutes. I cleared my throat and nodded. Laura laughed. "You look like a cow ran over you." I shrugged. "I've been thinking for a while." Laura stood up. "Well, that's a start." She gave me a mischievous smile. I grabbed a pillow and whacked her teasingly. "Hey!" I protested. Laura giggled and ducked out of the way as I prepared to launch another pillow at her. She came up from behind me with a blanket and covered me with it. "Hey!" I yelp again and I fall on the ground. Laura laughed and then I bring her down with me. ""Whoa!" She gasps in surprise and she lands on to the ground…right on top of me. Her eyes were wide with shock and our faces were just an inch apart. I could count every tiny freckle on her face. She sat up straight and pushed herself into a corner in the wall. "Um…uh…" She stammered and looked down at her hands. I was kind of shocked myself. But in a good way. "Oh my goodness, Ross, what are you doing?" I looked up and saw Adeline in the doorway. I freaked out and jumped up. "Adeline, what are you doing here?" I asked her furiously. Adeline shrugged. "Your front door wasn't all the way closed." I felt myself burning with anger. "Adeline, you shouldn't intrude like that!" Adeline pretended that I didn't say anything and looked at Laura. She smirked at her. "What's Laura doing here?" I glared at Adeline. "I invited her." Adeline narrowed her eyes at me, as though she detected that I was lying. Honestly, she can sense that I'm fibbing, but she can't sense that I hate her?! Laura stood up abruptly. "I should get going now." She said in a short, awkward way. Each word seemed to have almost appeared to come forced out of her mouth. Laura looked up at me, looked down at the ground and brushed past me. "Aw, Laura upset now?" She scoffs. Laura took one, angry glare at Adeline but just continued walking. I reached out to grab her arm, but my hands were glued at my sides. I heard the door open and I came to my senses. "Laura, wait!" I yelled and ran over to her. She looked up at me slowly. "What's wrong?" I asked her. Laura smiled at me sadly and shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." She said sadly and walked out. I let the door close and I walked back into my room, numbed by the events that just happened.

I stared at the phone in my lap. An hour has passed since Laura walked out on me. I had rushed Adeline out of my house right after it was clear that Laura left. "What's the matter, Ross? I didn't do anything!" She protested, but I shoved her out and slammed the door. I'm not usually the kind of person who would actually do something that mean to Adeline, but I couldn't believe what just happened. "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" I yelled at myself. Before I could lose it, I dialed Laura's phone number and only received a voice message. I didn't bother leaving a message and just put my phone on my desk and stared out the window. The sky was turning dark, and darkness meant night. My stomach grumbled and I realized that I didn't even have dinner yet. Or shower. Weird.

I opened the bathroom door and thought about Laura while I washed. I still don't understand. What was it with her? I mean, why did she leave so suddenly? Is it that she wasn't comfortable with Adeline around? No, before in the ice cream shop, she acted just fine. Was it because she didn't like that she and I were, well, really close? I don't think so, unless I smelled really bad or something. But Laura doesn't mind what I smelled like…does she? I should really start putting on more soap. I was at the point in banging my head in frustration on the bathroom wall when I changed into my clothes. I brushed my hair down and stepped into my room. I reached over to my phone. I knew exactly who to call.

"Hey, Ross, what's up?" I heard Calum's cheery voice blare out of the receiver. "Calum, you want to eat dinner at my house? I gotta talk to you about something. This is where you would say something dorky like, 'This is a job for the love whisperer' or whatever." I heard Calum laughing. "No problem, the love whisperer will be there in five minutes." Sure enough, Calum and I were soon at the dinner table, talking over pizza take out and pasta. "So, you like Laura." Calum nodded over this. I shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess." Calum gave me a critical stare. I gave in. "Yeah, I've liked Laura since forever." Calum bobbed his head happily. "That's more like it." I grinned and threw a piece of bread at him, which he caught in his mouth perfectly. "So, what's the problem? I mean, coming from this story, all I can say is that Laura doesn't like Adeline." I shrugged. "Well, that too, but I've got the feeling that it's more than that…and I don't know what to do about it. I mean, wouldn't Laura think I'm a freak if I just, I don't know, pulled her over and kissed her on the spot?" Calum chewed on his meal and thought for a while. "I don't know, buddy. I think Laura might like you, but so far, you're not doing anything to convince her to keep liking you." I snorted. "Like how?" Calum licked his lips. "Well, think of it this way, today you kept emphasizing to her that you guys were 'just friends'." I felt myself gulp guiltily. "That was just because I was nervous!" Calum pointed his fork to me. "Exactly. You need to prove that you like her, give her something special." I looked at him quizzically. "Like, a date?" Calum sighed. "Yes, like a date." He said. I twisted my fingers together. "I don't know, I don't even think Laura likes me that much." Calum shrugged and leaned back. "Well, we'll be able to find that out, right?" I gave him a half smile and pounded my fist on the table. "Operation Like Laura begins now." I declared.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi you guys! Thanks for the amazing reviews and everything! I've gotten more than 700 views already, and I only posted two chapters! This is so awesome of you guys! :) I am so thankful! Anyways, I've been planning on updating once a week, but I was tempted to write a bit more. So here I am! This will be in Laura's POV this time, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Here's a heads up though, some of the characters in this story is made up, such as Laura's stylist, a new guest star, etc. Another thing: The episode recording that takes place in this chapter is also NOT real, sadly. :( However, I hope these new, original ideas will be an intresting thing to read about in this chapter. Thank you, don't forget to review, and ENJOY! :) **

Chapter 3.

Laura—

I woke up to the sound of the soft strums of guitar of my alarm. I opened my eyes groggily, stretched, and yawned. I shut off my alarm and stood up. It just took one glance out the window, and I knew that promise of something fresh and new would happen. The golden light of the sun shone through onto the polished wooden floor that I trod on every morning. A bird was hopping on a tree branch, warbling out its little song to the world. I opened the window and fresh air gusted through the curtains, sweeping the fabric into a joyful dance. I sighed and allowed myself to relax a little bit and appreciate the wonders around me of early daytime. It was too soon when the director called me and barked at me to get to the set within a half of an hour. Reluctantly and slowly, I dragged myself out of my room and into the shower. Steaming water shot out of the shower head and I shifted from one foot to another to get used to the sudden heat. My mind dawdled for a while, thinking of the peace I had a couple of minutes ago, only to jump up when my mind took the unwanted trip to the box of memories in my brain that contained the events of last night with Ross. A jolt went up my spine and it had nothing to do with the fact that cold water began running out of the shower as my hands slowly turned the water off.

Everything was so amazing, Ross and I were the closest I've ever known, and this wasn't even for the show! Maybe it was by accident that Ross bought me down to the floor, but I knew that I liked the familiar rush of anticipation whenever Ross and I were close.

Then everything went wrong.

I couldn't believe that Adeline had the nerve to just barge in like that. I don't really know what happened back there, except I was at the verge of crying. It felt as though that the one time that I had Ross to myself, someone would come and take him away from me, and it would always, no matter what, be Adeline. I remember pushing myself out of the doorway, and I heard the vague and soft click of a camera, and I knew that Adeline had just taken my picture. I ran to the door a bit faster out of that, and Ross was asking me what happened, what was wrong? I couldn't explain it, really. I was just so angry and so upset and I knew that if I opened my mouth about anything, I would begin to cry and I couldn't have Adeline taking a photo of me sobbing all over Ross.

I shivered as I put a towel around my body. I didn't want to know what Adeline was going to do with my photo. However, I've got the scary and sad feeling that she was probably going to post it on the internet and make some lame caption about losers and whatnot.

I quickly blow dried my hair so that it would fall around my shoulders in a glossy curtain. I walked to my closet and pulled out a rose patterned grey skirt, along with a shiny, gold fabric spaghetti strap top with grey flats. I gave my outfit a once over and smiled. I slung a pink purse over my shoulder and tucked my phone inside. I opened my front door and got in my car. Blasting on the radio, I started up my engine and was soon on the way to the set. I parked my car and ran out. "Laura! Finally, we've been waiting for you!" The director shouted at me, sending his papers flying everywhere. I ducked a little to avoid being smashed in the face with his clip board. "Sorry, I was facing dawdling issues." The director harrumphed. "OBVIOUSLY." He said gruffly. He lifted his megaphone and shouted in my ear, "WE WERE WAITING FOR YOU SO THAT WE CAN ALL MEET A SPECIAL PERSON AS A GUEST STAR IN OUR NEXT EPISODE!" I rubbed my ear and winced. "I said that I was sorry for coming late!" I protested. The director grinned. "I know." I shot him a death glare when his back was turned. "LAURA!" I turned around just in time to see Raini running towards me, her face shiny with sweat. "Where were you? Director says that our guest star is supposed to be an amazing actor, and we're all so excited to meet him!" I nodded weakly. Raini looked at me and said, "Oh, right, I remember now! You told me about it last night…about the entire Adeline and Ross thing." I grimaced to confirm that what I had told her was true. Raini put her hand over her mouth. "That idiot!" She whispered, horrified. I wasn't sure who she was talking about—Ross or Adeline, but I could tell that all the same, she was infuriated. Before I could say anything else, the director shouted through his megaphone for all of us to gather around. Raini squeezed my hand and we walked ahead. There, I found Ross. His eyes flicked up to me. "Hey." He said softly. I gave him a half smile and looked at the ground. The director cleared his throat. "Guys, I would like all of you to meet…Jack Murkowski!" Jack opened a door and my mouth dropped open. He was, well, "HOT." Raini whispered. It was true.

Jack had sweeping dark hair with green eyes tinged with grey that was so hypnotizing yet so beautiful, almost like a moth wing. His skin was tanned and he was lean and built fit, with the kind of careless air around him that made you want to know him more. He grinned at us. "Hey, you guys, I'm so glad to be working with you!" Raini practically melted. He had a British accent. What's cuter than a British accent? I smiled at him, thinking yeah, he was definitely adorable, but I think I preferred Ross. Speaking of Ross…I turned to look at him and saw his eyes narrowed at Jack. There was an ultimate displeasure in his face, and Ross was staring at Jack so intensely, I was amazed that Jack's shirt didn't light on fire.

"He'll be playing as Ross' arch enemy in this episode." The director said. I startled. "What?" I gawked at him. Raini seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Isn't Trent from the previous episodes supposed to be Ross' arch enemy?" The director shrugged. "Nah, this guy is different. So, think about it this way: Austin and Ally are dating now, and they're the happy kind of couple, the pretty walk in the sunset kind of couple, right?" I avoided looking at Ross when the director said this. I looked down at the ground and shifted from foot to foot. "So, there's this new guy at school. His name will be Henry, and Jack will be playing as him." The director gestured to Jack, who bowed. We all began laughing at Jack's formality. Well, except for one person, who still stared at Jack with narrowed eyes. "And so, Henry falls in love with Ally at first sight, and Ally isn't sure of it at first, but she only thinks of Henry as a little brother. However, Henry doesn't pick up the clues that Ally isn't interested in him, and continues to follow her around, and eventually, kisses her. Austin sees this, and the rest of the episode will be continued in a set of three big episodes." I felt my chin go rigid and I saw Ross' eyes go from narrow to wide with shock. "Wait, what do you mean, Henry KISSES Ally?" Ross' voice was high pitched. The director laughed. "Relax, Ross. It's basically the same thing we did with you and Laura in the kissing shot. They'll just be really close, so it'll look like they really are kissing." Ross didn't seem to like this idea any better. I shot a look at Ross. "What is it, Ross? I thought that you said we were just friends, anyway." I admit, I was a little mean, and I could feel the flames flickering behind each word. Ross looked at me, and his brown eyes were so filled with pain, I wanted to bite on my tongue and just give him a hug telling him that I was so sorry, but I held myself back. I guess my outburst was a little bit of a surprise, because everyone looked at me, except Jack, who was totally left in the dark on this. Calum gave me a funny look, and then whispered something in Ross' ear. Ross turned pink and slapped Calum away. Raini gave me a quizzical look and waved it off, motioning for me to talk about it later. The director looked at me and then looked at Ross with arched, questioning eyebrows. He took a longer time inspecting Ross, mainly because Ross was holding back the glare that the director had not asked for. The director gave Ross a stony stare and then he shouted through his megaphone, "Everyone, get to places! Cast members; get going to the makeup and hair stylists now!" I looked at Ross one final time and sulked to Megan, my stylist.

Megan was an awesome friend, even though she was about ten years older than me. She always had wonderful designs to make me, and always did my makeup perfectly. It was never too light, but it wasn't too much either, so it on screen, it would look like Ally was wearing some sort of makeup, but not enough to make the viewers think that I had turned into some over glittery makeup freak. Not only was Megan talented, but she was also really pretty, and saw beauty in everything, from a butterfly to a rock. She had strawberry blond hair with bright pink bubblegum streaks. Her eyes were a bright, clear blue that just about reflected anything. Her skin was pale, with a little bit of tan around the edges of her skin, showing that Megan spends some time outside. Now, Megan tucked her pencil in her pocket and showed me her sketchbook. "I just came up with this design for the next show!" She told me brightly. I looked at it listlessly and nodded. Megan frowned. "I know that look." She said slowly. "Something is up." I shrugged. Megan sighed. "Well, if you won't tell me, we'll see if that frown of yours will turn upside down while I make you into an Ally Dawson." With that, Megan pushed me into my dressing room and showed me the outfit she was planning on making me wear today. My outfit was a simple, plush blue frock with a white sweater, associated with a pair of soft caramel colored ankle boots. I grinned. "What's with the dress for today?" I asked Megan as I dressed into it. Megan smiled at me slyly. "Let's just say that today's episode will be something else, just…romantic, I should say." I let the twinges of my mouth lift up, but my heart sank a little. I was so not in the mood for 'romantic' right now.

Megan sat me in a chair and she curled the tips of my hair. She put on some blush, eyeliner, a little bit of blue eye shadow, but covered most of it up with a peach colored eye shadow that blended in right with the tone of my skin. I fidgeted a little, thinking of what horrible disasters could happen. Megan painted my nails white with a blue eighth note sketched onto my ring finger nail. Megan put up my finger for me to see the little design. I smiled a little to see that reassuring bit of music written on my hand. Megan stood up and stretched. "Alright, sweetie, you're good to go." I stood up and was just about to go through the door when she grabbed my hand. Megan looked at me sternly and said, "But I'm going to have a proper explanation about your attitude today." I nodded and slipped outside where the set awaited. Raini was already examining the script with a critical eye. Her brow furrowed, then jumped, and then went back to being furrowed. "Hey, anything new?" I asked. Raini looked at me and gestured at the script. "You're going to have quite the ride today, Laura." She told me in a hushed tone. My smile faded. "What do you mean?" Raini wordlessly handed me the papers and I read the words, my eyes growing wider.

"I'm supposed to kiss Ross?! On the cheek?! Five times in this show?!" I gasped. Raini nodded. "Seems like Austin and Ally are having a little bit of cheesy girlfriend and boyfriend time." She said miserably. I paced around, shaking my head. "No no no!" I moaned. "Before, doing the fake kiss with Ross was okay, but cheek kissing is real! I have to literally put my lips…" I gestured to my cheek and moaned again. "It's fine, Laura, it's just a peck at the cheek." Raini tried to comfort me, but I was already feeling flustered. "After last night, I don't know if I can even face him, Raini!" I cried. Raini gave me a sympathetic smile and patted me on the shoulder. "Relax, Laura. It'll be fine. Think of it this way, maybe Ross is feeling just the same about you kissing him. He's probably going crazy, too." Before I could respond, the director screamed at us to hustle up and to quit jabbing. Raini and I exchanged dark glances and we walked to the center of the stage. "Here's the scene," the director began. "Austin and Ally are walking into Sonic Boom, laughing and chatting from a happy date they had…" I zoned off, looking into the distance and then realizing that I was actually staring into Ross' eyes. I blinked and felt my eyes widen with shock. Ross gave me a half smile and put a thumbs up. I gave in and managed a small grin. "Alright, so here's the basic plot for the story." The director began handing out sheets of paper. I looked down at mine and read:

"_Austin and Ally has spent a week being together and so far, it's smooth sailing. Ally's father thinks that Ally has been working hard enough to give her some time off. So, he hires a new employee to take over Ally's job while she gets her free time with her friends…and Austin. This new employee came into Sonic Boom, and his name is Henry Jackson. As soon as Henry sees Ally, he falls in love with her and tries spending as much time with her as possible. Ally makes it clear the first couple times that she already has a boyfriend, who is Austin Moon. Henry ignores this and still pesters Ally to go on a date some time, even though Ally kindly rejects all of his requests. Austin is getting a little uncertain about Henry, and he feels as though Henry is a big nuisance. He begs Ally to stop being around Henry, and Ally tries, but she feels bad for Henry too much to just throw him on the dirt. While things are rocking back and forth between Austin and Ally, Henry finally makes his move on Ally. Henry was organizing guitars in the storage room and when Ally comes in; Henry dives in and kisses her. Meanwhile, Austin peeks from behind the door of the storage room and watches, horrified. He leaves promptly, feeling angry and confused at the same time. Ally does not know that Austin saw the kiss, but pushes Henry off of her. She looks at him, and then storms out of the room, leaving Henry alone in the room, looking dazed yet happy._

I stared at the text and read it over twice. Then three, four, five times until the words seemed to adjust and sink into my head. Ross reacted quicker than I did.

"No way!" He jumped up and yelled. We all looked at him, surprised by his outburst. "I don't want to do this, I refuse!" He shouted and for good measure, he kicked over his chair. Raini shot a look at me, shock making her eyes go wider than mine did a couple of minutes ago. "Calm down, Ross!" The director cried. "What's gotten into you?" Ross shook his head. "It's nothing!" He said, but I could still feel the fire in every single word he said. Ross silently picked up his chair and plopped into it. I was still watching him. My eyes were still opening wider and wider in shock. Ross looked at me and I forced myself to bring my gaze down on to my hands. I contemplated on the events that just happened.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I can't believe that I'm updating so early! I'm kind of ahead scedhule, but the amount of support that I'm getting from you guys is overwhelming and it's motivating me to write a lot faster, which is so awesome! :) Anyways, I hope this chapter will please you, and I'm really intrested in what you have to say about this certain segment of *literature*. Don't forget to review, and please, no hater comments! Thank you so much! XOXO**

Chapter 4.

Ross—

I felt everyone's eyes trained on me. Especially Jack's. I felt my fists clench.

I hate that guy. I hated how Laura looked at him and turned a little red. I hate it, I hate it, and I hate it.

"Well, then." The director cleared his throat. "We'll just practice this certain episode with the scripts, so feel free to look down at your lines any time." The director motioned Laura and me to stand up. "You guys will be over there, by the street. When you hear a loud buzzing sound, walk into Sonic Boom. Remember, laugh and smile like it's the happiest day of your lives." I risked taking a glance at Laura. Judging from the freaked out and questioning look in her eyes, I think it's going to take her a bit more than acting for her to pull off that she's happy with me. Besides, I think she's still moony-eyed over Jack. We stood up, and took our places. I looked down at Laura, and she looked up at me with big eyes. "Ross, what happened back there?" She whispered. I shrugged. "Stop lying, I know that something was up when you flipped over your chair." She rolled her eyes, which I realized had a little bit of blue eye shadow on the eyelids. They looked good on her. "Hello?" Laura waved her hand in front of my face. I blinked and forced myself to look down. "Look, Laura, about last night." I knew immediately by the surprise in her eyes that Laura did not see what was coming. I took a deep breath. "I know that you were probably really ticked off about Adeline, and I know that you were probably mad at me that I didn't do anything except freak out." Laura didn't look at me in the eye. She spoke to my chin. "It's fine, Ross. I panicked, too." I felt my heart lift a little. "So, are you okay?" Laura gave me a half smile. "I guess, yeah." Before we could say anything else, a loud buzz sounded. Without thinking, I grabbed Laura's hand and grinned at her nervously. Laura looked slowly down at my hand and gave me the smallest smile ever. We walked towards Sonic Boom, laughing and smiling like we were having the best time. "Guess who got a job at 'Bubblegum and Rainbows'!" Raini shouted, wearing a ridiculous pink body suit with a headband with all of the colors of the rainbow. Laura stifled a giggle. "You look ridiculous, Trish." Laura said, quickly glancing at her lines. Raini shrugged. "It's what we have to wear for my new job, apparently. Speaking of which, I better get fired fast, before I get caught by some idiot." Laura laughed and walked to the counter where she 'worked'. "Ally, honey, you don't need to work today!" Laura's 'father', played by Andy Milder, walked in. Laura looked up, confused. "But Dad, it's time for me to look over the store, remember?" Andy shook his head. "I realized that my daughter has been working pretty hard lately, and I think you deserve a break." Laura looked at Andy quizzically. "What do you mean by that?" Andy beamed at Laura. "I hired a new employee! He's great around this store!" I stood up. "Wait a second, what do you mean by 'he'?" Andy gestured at the door, where Jack-ugh-walked in. "Hello Mr. Dawson!" He said pleasantly. Jack walked up to Laura. "You must be Ally." Laura giggled a little bit, which sent a pang through my stomach. I knew that was part of her acting, but it was still painful to watch. "Ally, this is Henry, and he'll be taking care of the store for a while. That way, you can have more free time!" Laura smiled widely. "Thanks, Dad!" She hugged Andy and then she went back to me. I put a protective arm around her. This was also a part of the script, but part of it was also my own doing. I wanted Laura as far away from Jack as possible. Calum walked onto the set. "Darn it, I missed something awesome, didn't I?" Laura grinned at him. "Well, it IS pretty cool that my dad hired a new employee, if that's what you mean." Calum shook his head. "What? No, I was talking about Trish getting a new job." Raini looked at Calum questioningly. "I get a new job every day." She said. Calum blinked, startled. "Oh, in that case, yes! I didn't miss anything." Laura rolled her eyes at him. Calum pointed at Jack. "Whoa, who's that guy?" Jack smiled and stretched out his hand. "I'm Henry. I'm going to work here at Sonic Boom from now on." Calum grinned. "Ally, your dad got a new worker for this place? That's awesome!" Laura stared at Calum, puzzled, but shook her head and waved it off.

"And…that's it for now!" The director shouted. I sighed, relieved that we didn't get to any parts where Jack actually begins to talk to Laura. "Lunch break!" The director yelled again. Laura rubbed her ears. "Someone has to take away his megaphone." She muttered. I laughed at this and we walked off to some benches outside. Laura sat down on one of the benches, while I stretched out lazily on the grass under a tree. Raini brought out sandwiches and for a while, we all stood there happily. "May I join you?" I turned around at Jack's voice and found him smiling shyly at Laura. Laura, being the nice, sweet person she is, patted down the seat next to her. "Of course!" She replied. "There's room here for everyone!" I stared stonily at Jack as he sat down next to Laura. "Thanks, Laura. It's great to know that the person on 'Austin and Ally' welcomes me." Laura grinned. "Well, if they accept a weirdo like me, then they can totally accept a guy like you." Jack laughed. Seeing Laura and Jack talk so easily made something snap inside of me."Well, Laura's not weird at all. I don't know about you, though." I scoffed. Jack stopped laughing at once. Laura glared at me. "Ross, don't be so mean! Jack just came here, you know." I shrugged as though I didn't care, but I did care, very much. I looked down at my sandwich and didn't say anything for the entire time.

"Come on, people! Time to get moving, moving, moving!" The director screams. I groan. Of all of the directors I worked with, this one was definitely the loudest. Calum walked up behind me. "Ross, what's the matter, buddy?" I bowed my head miserably. "Is it that obvious?" Calum shrugged. "Well, you've been acting like a jerk lately to the new guy, so everyone knows that something is wrong." I didn't respond. "Come on, Ross. I think I have a little bit of understanding of what's going on around here." I looked up. "You do?" I asked guiltily. Calum nodded. "Now, I know that you don't get so jealous and everything, but I would say that you were jealous of Jack hanging around with Laura." I stared at Calum. "What?" My voice went high pitched. "Pssh, no way!" Calum crossed his arms. "And now, I would say that you're lying." I sighed. "Fine, yeah." Calum pointed at me. "That's right, Ross! We're one step closer to getting Laura with you. First step is always admitting your problem, and we did that!" Calum danced around. I had a sudden urge to slap him, but I kept that thought to myself. Raini shot a look at me. "Why is Calum dancing?" She asked me. "I don't really want to talk about it." I told her dryly. Raini smirked and went to Laura. Speaking of Laura…

I sidled up to her and tugged at her hair. Laura turned around at me and grinned. "What's the occasion for the dress, Miss Marano?" I teased. "According to my stylist, this episode needs a romantic outfit to fit the dramatic plot." With that, Laura struck a pose, placing her wrist on her head and flapping her other hand near her heart. I snorted. She looked like an old fashioned 1950's fan girl of Elvis or something. Then I realized I wasn't the only guy acting goofy about Laura's cute act. Jack was eyeing Laura curiously, but with a look in his eyes that I didn't quite find pleasing. In fact, it was almost troubling. Jack gently took Laura's hands and guided them into his.

I honestly don't know what happened after that.

It all came really fast, to tell you the truth. The director was yelling at us to hurry up to the set already, and I remember feeling a ball of rage warming up in my chest. Raini's eyes were bulging, and then thunder rumbled in the sky. I'm serious, clouds were gathering already, but when the first raindrops hit, we ran for it.

We all sat underneath the roof of a building and watched the rain come tumbling down in sheets of water. I was still replaying the image in my head. I couldn't believe it. Laura seemed to be a little uncomfortable about this, too. She was shifting from foot to foot, avoiding eye contact with Jack. I sat down next to her. "Hey." I whispered. Laura's eyes flickered up to me and she smiled, relieved that it wasn't Jack. "Ross, I don't like Jack. There's something about his attitude…it's almost fake." She said softly. "It's okay, Laura. Trust me, everything will blow over soon." Laura nodded her head, but I could tell from the vacancy in her eyes that she didn't believe me. Before I could lose my cool, I squeezed her hand, which was trembling. "Jack will be gone before you know it." Laura said something, but I couldn't hear her. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed around the sky, muting Laura's words. When I asked her what she was saying before, she just shook her head.

I fell asleep at one point. We managed to head back to the main building without getting too drenched. I flopped onto a couch and was conked out. Storms do that to me a lot, I just get lost in the weather so I sleep. I awoke to the noise of lightning and everyone screaming. I jerked up, unsure of what was going on, and then realized that all of the lights were out. "Power outage!" I heard the director say. "Where's my…oh, here it is!" The director flicked on a flashlight. "I'll go check the storage room; I think there's a generator there or something." He stomped down with a couple of stylists and people from the crew. I sighed and sat back down. Raini flicked on another flashlight, and in the dim glow of the light, I could make out Laura sitting next to Raini, her knees grouped up to her chest. Jack was sitting in a corner, and Calum was sitting right next to me. "You fell asleep." Laura said. I yawned and stretched. "I guess so." Laura smiled. "You talk in your sleep." I grinned. "What did I say?" Laura thought for a while. "I don't think you would like it if I said what you said right here. But it does have something to do with spider monkeys and underwear." I cringed as everyone burst out laughing. Then thunder boomed and we all hushed down again. Raini shuddered. "I hate thunder storms." She said. Calum stretched out his legs. "I personally love storms. They're scary, but that's the fun thing about it." Raini rolled her eyes. "Of course you would like them." Calum pouted. "Well, I like storms, too." Jack spoke in his corner. We all turned our heads and glanced at him. He gave us a small smile. "I've got tons of memories of them." Then, he turned his head at Raini. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I find it interesting that your name is 'Raini' yet you do not like storms." Raini laughed at this. "I guess it is a bit ironic, but I get used to it."

We did that for a while, making small talk while we heard the director shouting curses at the generator, which was taking a long time to power up. I must have been really tired, because I fell asleep again to the sound of rain dripping on the windows. When I woke up again, I realized that Laura and Jack were gone. I stood up, panicking. "Where's Laura? Where's Jack?" I asked. Calum shrugged. "Laura needed some fresh air, so she stepped outside for a bit. Jack offered to look out for her in case she gets caught in the storm." I looked at Calum, confused. "It's raining, and Laura wants to go outside?" Raini waved her hand. "They're staying under the roof so Laura will still get fresh air, and not get wet." Without saying anything, I raced off to the roof, only realizing that Raini must have meant the roof at the front of the building. I slapped my forehead and charged out into the rain. I skidded to a stop when I came a couple of yards away from the roof. I hid behind a tree and felt my heart sinking with a thud in my chest. The rain was slowly coming down into a softer drizzle, but I didn't feel it. I took a quick glance from my tree and hid again. I felt water roll down my face. I couldn't tell if it was sweat, or rain, or tears. All I knew was that I felt pain, and fury. Because right there, under the roof of the building, was Jack kissing Laura.

Then, Laura saw me. Her eyes were wide, and before she could say anything, I tore off down the down the street, not caring that rain was still drenching me from my head to my feet. I heard Laura screaming, "Ross! Ross! It's not like that! You know it's not like that!" I didn't look back. I jammed my keys into my car and drove off as fast as I could. As soon as I got home, I collapsed onto my bed, still in my clothes, and wished that the world would end.


	5. Chapter 5

**I really really really did NOT want to jinx it. I really didn't. Whenever I post a chapter earlier than usual, no one ever reads my story. I'm taking a humongous risk here! ;) Please prove my so-called jinx wrong, because this story is waaaaay too fun to write to give up. Of course, one of the reasons why it's fun is because I love to torture my readers. ;) JK! But it's great that I've gotten so many enthusiastic reviews! Seriously, I checked how many views on my story I got, and I freaked, because there were 1,000 more views than yesterday. OMG! You guys are so awesome! Anyways, don't forget to review, no hater comments, and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOMETASTEAFUL SUPPORT! 3**

Chapter 5.

Laura—

"Where is Ross?" The director asked the next day. I was still numb from what happened yesterday. I hated Jack. I should have pushed him off the second he dove at me. But he was too strong. No matter how hard I protested, he wouldn't let go. And then Ross came. He looked so hurt, so betrayed, it broke my heart. I broke down and began crying the second I got home. Later, I called Raini and told her what happened. I heard the shock in her voice when she responded. "No way!" She gasped. "That's just like the script!" And here I am, wondering what the heck happened to Ross. Where was he?

"Where is Ross?" The director asked again. "He's already twenty minutes late!" I bit my lip. "You don't think it has anything to do with yesterday, do you?" I whispered to Raini. Raini shrugged. "I hate to say yes, but I think so, yeah." She said apologetically. The director sighed and dialed Ross' number on his phone. A minute later, he shook his head. "Someone needs to get him and see what's going on." Without thinking, I raised my hand. "I'll go." I say shakily and stood up. "I'll call back if anything is wrong." With that, I ran to my car and headed for Ross' house. When I reached the door, everything looked normal enough. There was no sign of Ross leaving the house. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. I rang the doorbell, but no one came. Sighing, I dug underneath the welcome mat and took out the spare key. I placed the key into the hole and twisted the door open. I closed the door silently and called out, "Ross?" I didn't hear his voice. I walked up the stairs. "Ross, come on, the director is really mad!" I say. I came to Ross' room, and pushed the door open. My eyes widened the second I saw him. He was laid out on his bed, still in his clothes from last night, and when I felt his clothes, I realized that they were all dried and brittle, the feeling of clothing when it just came from a wet environment. I sighed. "Oh Ross, what the heck is going on?" I whispered. I poked at his head, but he didn't wake up. Feeling a little panicked, I felt his forehead and flinched. It was burning.

I fished out my phone from my purse and called the director. "Director, I think Ross is sick." I said softly. I heard the director sighing, annoyed. "Is Ross awake?" He asked. "No, he's asleep." I answered. The director sighed again. "When he wakes up, tell him that practice is canceled." He said. I nodded, and then realized that the director can't see my response. "Alright, sir." I said quickly and shut off my phone. I turned to Ross, who was still asleep.

I couldn't just leave him there, right? Someone had to take care of him. I tried poking Ross awake, but that didn't work out so well. I went to Ross' kitchen and took out a towel. I ran it over with cold water and went back to Ross. I placed the towel on his forehead, and sat down next to him. I brushed my hand against his hair, watching his eyebrows crease as though he was having a nightmare, and then smooth out as a pain was drawn out. Then, Ross' eyes opened groggily. Ross sat up slowly and looked at me carefully, examining my very being. "Hey." I whispered. "What are you doing-" Ross broke into a fit of coughing and eased himself back onto his bed. "If you were asking me why I'm here, well, someone has to take care of you, right?" I smirked, but my voice broke. Ross stared at me for a while. "Come on, we've got to get you out of those clothes." I said. Ross didn't respond for a while, but he finally stood up. The second he was in upright position, though, he collapsed back onto his bed. It took a while, but I guided him to the bathroom and started up the water. I didn't want Ross slipping and falling in the bathroom, but I didn't feel comfortable with him taking off all of his clothes, either. The compromise was that I stood outside his bathroom door, so in case he does fall, I'll hear it and come rushing in. Thankfully, nothing of that sort happened. He came out of the bathroom, and he sat down on his bed. A bit more strength was returning to him, but when I felt him forehead, it was still warm. "Are you okay?" He asked me. I felt my heart break a little. He didn't sound so good. His voice was all husky and broken, and not to mention he looked so tired and worn out, it made me want to begin crying and begging for forgiveness. There were dark bags under his eyes, his hair was tousled, and every time he moved, it seemed pained and forced, as though every step he took shot some sort of pain through his body. I found the energy to respond, "I'm fine. Are you feeling any better?" Ross shrugged. "I'm going to go to sleep." He said. I nodded. He buried himself under the covers and closed his eyes. I placed another wet towel over his forehead and watched him sleeping. I drifted off at Ross' desk and opened my eyes. Ross was awake, and that was when I noticed that here was a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I stood up, letting the blanket slide away. "When did you wake up?" I asked him. "About twenty minutes ago." He responded, but when I felt his forehead, it seemed that he was awake much more than twenty minutes. "You should have woken me up!" I said furiously. Ross shook his head. "You were tired." I dragged the blanket over to Ross and went into the kitchen, looking for some sort of fever pill that would bring Ross' sickness down. I managed to find a half full bottle of fever pills and fed two of them to Ross. "What were you thinking, Ross?" I asked him. Ross didn't respond. "I don't know." He whispered. "I guess I got a little shocked when I saw you making out with Jack, I guess." I grabbed Ross' hand. "Ross, what happened back there was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen, Jack kind of dove at me I guess. I tried to shove him off, but he wouldn't go. Trust me; I hate Jack more than anything." A ghost of a smile flickered on Ross' lips. "You hate him even more than Adeline Smith?" He says slyly. I laughed. "Even Adeline Smith, yes." Ross smiled. He began coughing so I had to force him to stop talking.

I was relieved, though. If Ross was smiling, it meant that he was alright. He would get better. He forgave me for the horrible mistake that I made.

I walked over into the kitchen and made some soup for Ross. He had every last drop of it and when he was finished, he leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Practice is canceled today." I said suddenly, just remembering that the director had told me to tell Ross. Ross grinned. "I thought so." He said. We both sat there, sitting in tranquil moments of silence until the doorbell rang. "I'll go get it." I said and stood up. I walked over to the door and I peeked through the window who our unexpected visitor could be. I eyed Adeline, and I rolled my eyes. I opened the door just a crack so Adeline could see me, but know that she was not welcomed in. "Hi Adeline." I said flatly. Adeline gave me a sickly sweet smile. "Hi Laura, is Ross home?" I nodded silently. "Er, can I come in?" She asked. I shook my head. "Why not?" She asked. "Ross isn't feeling well." I said sullenly. Adeline watched me for a moment. Then, her eyes narrowed. "Then why are you here?" She says suspiciously. "I'm supposed to take care of him." I replied, feeling a sharp edge of satisfaction cut into my voice. "Why, you little-" Adeline raised her hand, as though to slap me. "Laura?" I let out a sigh of relief. "Laura, are you okay?" Ross walked down the stairs, and came up from behind me. Adeline stiffly put down her hand. She cleared her throat. "Hey, Ross!" She said, switching to flirting mode. She twirled her hair. She batted her eyelashes. She did anything to cover up what she was just about to do.

But Ross wasn't a moron. He knew that Adeline was going to slap me, or do something to hurt me. "Hey, Adeline." He said shortly. "This isn't a good time for you to be here." Adeline stared at me, and then at Ross. She looked at me, and then looked at Ross again. "Wait a second; you're not actually dating…"

"Bye, Adeline." Ross said and shut the door on her. I turned around and faced Ross. His eyes were burning, like they might burst into flames. I wordlessly lead him up the stairs into his room again. "Adeline is so stupid." He said angrily. I shrugged. "You have to get used to it." Ross flopped himself onto his bed. "She was going to hurt you, wasn't she? I know that she would have." I smiled. "Yeah, she would have, but you came just in time." I whisper. Ross grinned and stood up. "Never fear, Ross is here!" He shouted, but he was forced to go back to whisper-talking, because he began coughing again. I felt Ross' forehead. It was still fairly warm, but I knew that his fever would be gone soon, probably by tonight. "Hey, you want to see something?" He asks me. "Well, I want to see you not sick anymore, if that's what you're saying." I say promptly. Ross grins. "Sadly, I can't do things that immediate. But there really is something cool that you need to see." Ross took my hand and he led me down to his basement. He opened up a guitar case and showed me a new guitar that he got. It was an acoustic guitar, colored black with in tuned strings, state of the art quality, and basically was the king of all guitars. This one had a regal yet melancholy air around it. I plucked the strings wordlessly, in love with the classical strums and beauty of the polished wood. "I knew that you would like it." He said happily. I looked up at him. His eyes were shining, like he could watch me all day play with his guitar. I felt my cheeks grow warm, but it wasn't the uncomfortable warmness that reached my cheeks whenever Jack was around, but it was the happy-go-lucky kind of warmness that made me giggle and laugh all the time. We both sat down on the basement floor, strumming chords and making up songs for absolutely no reason for the longest time. When we went back up the stairs, it was growing dark and the sky was a brilliant shade of pink and violet mixed together. It was an amazing view from Ross' bedroom window, and I wanted to remember that moment forever.

Then, the door rang.

"I really hope that's not Adeline again." I moaned. Ross shook his head. "I'm coming down with you." He said. Relieved that I'll have some backup, we went downstairs and I opened the door. As soon as I saw who was behind that door, my heart sunk and I felt Ross go rigid behind me.

Jack.

"Hey Laura!" He beamed. "Hi Jack." I say listlessly. "I knew that you would be here, you were so quick to volunteer to check up on Ross." He said sweetly. I felt my cheeks flush as I sensed Ross' gaze flicker down at me. "What was the matter?" Jack asked me. I finally found my voice. "Ross was sick. I had to take care of him." I replied. Jack nodded knowingly. Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Ross stood in front of me, and shoved me behind his back, as though to protect me. Ross' face was cold and hard, and every single word he said had an iron grip behind it. "You should leave now." He said. "You're a danger to Laura." Jack laughed, as though he couldn't believe what Ross was saying. But when Jack opened his eyes, I could see cold hatred in them. I wilted a little behind Ross. "How am I a danger to Laura?" He asked softly. Ross didn't reply. "You should really watch your back, Ross. I could be dangerous to anyone who bothers me." Ross' grip on me tightened. "When Laura pushes you off next time, leave her be. She doesn't want you." Jack tossed his head back, laughing. Then, he punched Ross in the stomach. I screamed a little. Ross moaned but stood up. He shoved Jack away, into the driveway. Jack kicked Ross hard, and pushed him into a bush. I yelled, and stormed outside. "Jack, get lost!" I shouted. I grabbed Ross, and slammed the door. Ross was awake, but he was moaning with pain. We stumbled up the stairs and he laid himself down in his bed. I was shaking. "Ross, please don't do that ever again." I said, crying. Ross smiled faintly. "I didn't start it." He murmured. I reached for Ross' shirt and tugged the lower part off. Ross didn't protest. I saw that there was a bruise growing on his stomach, but besides that, he was alright. His back was covered with scratches from the bush, which I gently put some cream on. I stood up to look out the window. It was already very dark, and stars scattered throughout the sky like sequins on cloth. Ross was losing consciousness. He grabbed my hand. "Don't go." He said softly. I sat down by his side. "I'm not going anywhere." I whispered. Ross smiled at me. "Thanks, Laura." He mumbled and fell asleep. I stroked his hair the entire night, and fell asleep on the floor, my head resting by his shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi hi! SPECIAL THANKS TO RAURAUSLLEY (you are going to have to forgive my spelling) who inspired me a little to add a little twist for this chapter. (Heeheehee...) Anyways, so thank you so so so so so much, Raurauslley (again, forgive my mispelling,)! ;) Many many many thanks! Anyways, so I'm so happy happy happy with the awesome support that you guys are giving me, so THANK YOU! Don't forget to review, no hater comments please! Thank you so much! XOXOXOXO**

Chapter 6.

Ross—

Daylight streamed through the windows and my eyes fluttered open. I looked around me and then my eyes caught sight of Laura, resting her head next to my arm. Her body was on the ground. I watched her sleep for a while and remembered that we had practice today. I moved slowly, careful not to wake Laura. I called the director, apologizing for not being at practice. "Nah, it's fine. You can't always control when you're sick or not, right? Anyways, there isn't any practice today, either. Get some fresh air. Take a run. Enjoy your break." He said and hung up. I looked down at my phone, hardly believing my luck. Practice off?

Awesome! I sat down beside Laura and nudged her. "Hey." I whispered. Laura's eyes opened slowly. She blinked and didn't say anything. She wordlessly felt my forehead with her hand. She sighed happily. "Your fever is gone." She said. I grinned. "Yeah, I know, right?" I say. Laura smiled and stood up. Stretching, she asked, "Are you feeling okay?" I shrugged. "If you mean by the punches and injuries I got last night, I'm feeling fine. A little sore, though." I answer. Laura watched my eyes for a moment. "You won't ever get into a fight again, will you?" She asked slowly. "Sure, Laura, I only fought because Jack hit me first." I said. Laura examined me. "But you never did that before. Ever." She says. I felt my cheeks turning red. Laura sat down and looked at me in the eye. "Ross, what's going on? You've been going crazy. First, when Jack showed up, you made sure that he was miserable. Then you run home, get sick, and fight with Jack again. It's scaring me a lot." Laura whispered. I sat down next to Laura. I felt nervousness rise in my throat. "Laura…" I say slowly. But Laura didn't stop. "I know that you might not like him, but it hurts a lot to see you hurt. I don't know why I care so much, but..." Laura let her sentence drift off. Before I lost my cool, I grabbed Laura's hand. I took a deep breath. "Laura, I never mean to hurt you. I like you. A lot. If anything, I guess I could say that I was going crazy over you all the time. Ever since we met, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I could never say anything to you without completely getting nervous that I'll say something stupid." I said it all quickly and stopped for a breath. Laura's eyes were wide with shock. "You…like me?" She whispered. I nodded. Laura didn't say anything. Her eyes just got wider and wider and wider until I thought that they were going to bug out. Then, before I could say anything else or run away freaking out, Laura began smiling. Her smile was so radiant and beautiful, and I'll never forget how happy when she said, "I like you, too, Ross. I like you a lot."

We both sat next to each other, marveling at the words that we just spoke to each other…the confessions that just escaped from our mouths. Then Laura giggled. Then I chuckled. We both burst out laughing, gasping for breath and staring at each other. "Why are we laughing?" Laura asked through giggles. "I don't know!" I say happily. We couldn't stop laughing at each other. About how relieved we both were that we felt the same way about each other. About twenty minutes later, we both stopped. Laura hugged me tight, and I couldn't help but feel a rush of anticipation. Laura smiled at me. "I can't believe this." She said softly. "Neither can I." I say.

There was a knock on the door. Laura looked at me. "You get a lot of visitors, don't you?" She asks me teasingly. I shrug. "I try." I reply. Laura stood up. "I just hope that it's a friend, not foe." She sighs. "After last night, I could use a break from Adeline or Jack or anyone else who's willing to drive us nuts." Laura added. I gave her a halfhearted smile. "Only one way to find out, right?" With that statement, we both went down the stairs and opened the door. Calum and Raini stood at my porch, with worried looks creasing their faces. "Oh my gosh, I am so glad you guys are okay!" Raini squeals and hugs Laura. Calum looked at me and asked, "Where were you yesterday? I mean, the director just told us that practice was canceled, and we were all really worried!" I put up my hands in surrender. "Relax guys, I was just sick. Stupid me, I decided to run out in the rain for twenty minutes the other day." I answered. Raini narrowed her eyes at me and then turned to look at Laura. "Where were YOU last night? You said that you'd go see if Ross was okay and you didn't return! We were really beginning to think that you guys were in real trouble or something!" Laura shrugged. "I took care of Ross while he was sick." Raini squinted at her friend. "Wait a second…." Raini shot a glance at me and then whisper-shouted, "Did anything happen between you two?" I couldn't help but to smile. I put an arm around Laura and watched with pleasure as Calum and Raini's eyes bugged out to the size of hubcaps. "OMG!" Raini squeals. Calum's mouth drops open. "Laura and Ross…you guys are dating?!" He screams. Laura rolled her eyes. "We just figured out that we liked each other this morning, silly." She said lightly. Raini begins to jump up and down, going hyperactive and bursting into giggles. Laura and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes over how silly our friends were acting. "You guys are so weird." I say. Calum shrugged. "What can I say? That's what I was made for." He said dramatically. We couldn't help but to begin laughing at that. "So, besides that, did anything else happen?" Raini asked. Laura shook her head. "If you count Adeline and Jack coming to the house and Jack beating up Ross as something happening, then I guess something did happen. Besides that, nothing." Calum shot me a look. "Jack came?" He asked. I nodded. "Wait, did you say that Jack beat Ross up?" Raini's eyes were gleaming. I nodded again. "What was all of that about?" She asked slowly. "Well…" I let my sentence drift off. "Ross kind of told Jack to stay away from me, but Jack lost his temper and punched Ross. And that was when the entire thing kind of blew up in our face." Laura answered for me. Raini gasped. Calum examined me. "But…you never get into fights." He told me. "Well, that day, I kind of did." I reply sheepishly. Calum slapped his hand against his forehead. "The world really is coming to an end. Ross is losing it." He muttered. "What about Adeline?" Raini asked Laura, ignoring Calum's constant mumbles. Laura grimaced. "Oh, you know. Adeline was flirting with Ross, trying to slap me, etc. Ross actually slammed the door in Adeline's face!" Laura added cheerfully. Raini grinned at me. "Good for you!" She told me enthusiastically. I gave Raini a half smile. Calum stopped banging his head on the wall and pretended to take an imaginary photo of Laura and me. "Now that you guys are officially a couple, what should we do?" He asked us excitedly. Raini slapped Calum on the arm. "You dummy!" She scolded him. "You're not supposed to say that! You're supposed to say something like 'now that you guys are officially a couple, you guys should totally hang out together by yourselves,' in this kind of situation!" Laura glanced at Calum and Raini quizzically. I squeezed Laura's hand. "I think we can all hang out for a bit, I mean, dating later, right?" Laura grinned. "I don't think Raini would leave us alone, anyway." She giggled. Raini glared at the both of us, but her frown melted away, which was replaced with a big grin. "God, you guys look so happy together!" She squealed. Laura blushed and I felt my cheeks feel warm. I smiled, embarrassed, but secretly, I was pleased. Laura looked at me and laughed nervously. "So, what are we waiting for?" She asked me, and we dove out the door.

The beach is an awesome place to be with your friends. With all of that ocean breeze and the cool water, it can make even the grumpiest person allow himself or herself to smile. Laura smiled and stretched out on a towel. After we ran out of my house, we had to go back for me to change into a swimsuit and gather my stuff for the beach. I was so excited, I literally tossed on a pair of swim trunks, grabbed a bag, threw a towel, shirt, sunglasses, and sunblock lotion into it and we ran out the door. It was an agonizingly long wait to get Calum, Raini, and Laura ready. Well, Laura must have been just as excited and nervous as me, because she came out of her house pretty quick. I smiled down at Laura now, who was in a pink bikini with a white cover shirt. I suddenly felt self-conscious, not wearing a shirt and all. I realized that I was holding sunblock lotion and looked down at my hand. "Um…can you…uh…" I motioned at the sunblock lotion to Laura. Laura grinned at me sweetly. She plucked the lotion from my hand. "You want me to spread the lotion on your back?" She asked me. I nodded, relieved that she understood me. Laura rolled her eyes. "Sit down, silly." She said and twisted off the cap. I felt a tingle go up my scalp when Laura's hand touched my back, smooth with the sun block lotion. I closed my eyes for a second. When Laura was finished, she giggled teasingly. "You look like a cow ran over you." I grinned stupidly. "What?" I asked her. Laura let out a tiny laugh. "Never mind." She responded. "You're turn." She told me. With that, she slipped off her shirt and told me to rub her back with the lotion. I felt warm in the face, but swallowed. I glossed her back with the lotion and she turned to face me. Her eyes were soft and gentle, and I felt my senses just about to melt. "Say cheese!" Calum shouts at us. Laura shrieks, and I flinch. We were both totally off guard when the bright flash of light hit us. "Calum!" Laura yelled. Calum danced around, holding his camera and cooing at his picture, which obviously, from his reaction, was a perfect shot. "Aw, now I can have this picture to remind me about the love birds!" Calum said happily. I chased Calum around teasingly, while he screamed, trying to protect his camera. When we came back to our spot, Raini rolled her eyes at the both of us. "You guys are so incredibly stupid, it makes me amused." Calum grinned. "We love you too, Raini." He said cheerfully. I plopped myself down next to Laura. She was laughing, her head tilted back, giggling over the chase of mine that had just occurred. I grabbed her hand and we tumbled into the water. Laura laughed so hard, it made me float with happiness. She began swimming out into the ocean, telling me to come catch her. I swam quickly towards her, and ended up scooping her up. She grinned and jumped out of my arms into the water again. "Mermaid!" I cried, and then dove in after her. Laura was out in the middle of the water area, right in the middle between the shore and the net that tied off the other parts of the ocean. Laura began laughing as I tried to catch up to her. "Laura, wait up!" I spat salt water out of my mouth. Gross! However, when I looked up, I realized that Laura was gone. My eyes widened. "Laura?" I call out uncertainly. Maybe she just dove under water as a prank. I looked around and called out louder. "Laura, come on, quit joking around." Then, I saw ripples splashing on the surface where Laura just was. I ducked my head under water, and opened my eyes.

First thought: _Ow…_

Second thought: _Oh my god, Laura's drowning!_

It was true. I peered down below me and saw wisps of Laura's hair going down. I freaked out, swam under her, and dragged her up to the surface. "Laura?!" I yelled at her. Laura didn't say anything. Her eyes flickered on and off, as if trying to get a hold of what's happening, but only being shut out of the world again. I swam as quickly as I could to surface, and laid her out on the sand. "Laura, come on!" I begged her. I pumped her chest, trying to get the air back in. "What's going on?!" Raini asked, running over to us. "I think Laura sank a little." I responded, still pumping her chest. "What?!" Raini shouted. Before I could respond, Laura opened her eyes and gasped. She surged forward, and vomited out water. I winced a little. "Laura, are you okay?" I ask her. Laura sat back up and coughed up more water than nodded. "Laura, don't scare me like that!" I cried. Laura stood up, wobbling a little. "Sorry." She smiled at me shakily. "Laura, I think you should rest a little." Raini said worriedly. Laura nodded. "I've got a spare change of clothes in my bag; I'll change into them and come back." Laura told us, and headed towards her bag. I watched her go into the ladies bathroom carefully. "That was so scary." I sighed. Raini raised an eyebrow. "How did Laura drown? I mean, she can swim; I've seen her." She told me. I shrugged. "She probably got a cramp or something. Maybe the salt water from the ocean made her head dizzy. I don't know." I replied.

I sat down, exhausted from the event that just happened. I put my head on my hands. I shifted from foot to foot and then kicked some sand in the air. I fidgeted. Finally, I stood up. "What's taking Laura so long?" I ask Raini. Raini shrugged. "Maybe there's a long line in the bathroom or something." She responded. I shook my head. "No, I think something's wrong." I told her. Raini rolled her eyes. "Ross, Laura just sank a couple of minutes ago. It's natural to think that something is wrong." I shook my head. "Please check for me? Please?" I begged. Raini sighed and stood up. "I'll go see." She answered, but I knew that she was just humoring me. She walked over to the far side of the beach. I fidgeted with my thumbs and then I saw Raini running back. She was crying. "Ross…Laura isn't there." Raini said, her eyes wide. I jumped. "What do you mean?" I ask, my voice reaching an octave higher. "I mean, she's not there!" Raini cried, hysterical. Calum came running to us. "Hey you guys!" He said cheerfully. "Where's Laura?" I flinch and run off to the ladies bathroom in full speed. "Laura's missing!" Raini shouted to Calum and took after me. I heard Calum run after Raini, and I stopped at the ladies bathroom abruptly. I sat down on my knees and searched frantically. "Where is she?" I shouted. Calum  
searched around the ground and stood up, gasping. "Ross…" He picked up Laura's bag. I flinched and searched it, desperate to find any clue.

Then I find it.

"_If you want Laura, come to Water Bridge Creek on Saturday at 11:00 pm exactly. Until then, Laura will be in my hands." _


	7. Chapter 7

**It's been such a long time since I updated! Sorry for the wait, but now I'm back with a big chapter of 'On Set'! Thank you so so so much for the awesome support, it means a lot to me. A couple of you PMed me asking me if the end of the story was coming soon, and I wasn't quite sure if that was an insult or just a curious comment, but I'll tell you right now, I'm planning on weaving more drama than ever for Ross and Luara. Anyways, don't forget to review, give me feedback, and I LOVE YOU GUYS! -K.R.**

Chapter 7.

Laura—

_Things I Do Not Like:_

_Adeline Smith_

_Liars_

_Traitors_

_Spiders_

I added one more item on my list: _Being tossed in a sack and being driven away to who-knows-where._

Despite my cramped position in the scratchy burlap sack, I smiled to myself.

Hold on, hold on. Let me retrace my steps back a bit…I can hardly believe that I'm in this mess to begin with.

I remembered changing into my clothes in one of the bathroom stalls, shuddering over what had just happened. I bunched my hair into a ponytail and walked to the sink, my bag slung over my shoulder. After neatening myself, I had meant to go outside and bound up to my friends, but I was caught with a little surprise. As soon as I opened the door, I was shoved to the ground. Black spots were dancing around my eyes. I meant to cry out, but nothing came out of my throat. A rough hand yanked away my bag. I heard the vague sound of a pencil scratching down something on paper. Then, I caught the eyes of a man who covered me with a sack. It was dark. I was scared. I began screaming and punching at the bag's sides, yelling curses until my throat was sore. Then, I felt myself get jostled into a bigger space, and I heard the noise of an engine starting up, and the feeling of car wheels rolling on gravel. I felt my heart leap into my throat. I was being kidnapped! Introduced to this new idea of fear, I began screaming even louder, shouting threats at whoever was driving the stupid thing. I fell asleep, tired from all of the panic that was racing through my head. And now, here I am, woken up from my nap, going through a useless list in my head about things I hate.

Suddenly, the car stops and the doors are flung open. I'm taken into a building, I think. I could hear the sound of a wooden door opening and closing as I am put into a room. Then, I'm flung to the ground. I land on my knees and wince in pain. The burlap sack did little to soften the blow. I think that was the point. I curled myself into a ball in fear. I heard voices behind me, discussing what to do. "Did the boss say to leave her in the sack?" A man asks gruffly. "I don't think so. But we better tie her into a chair." Another voice replies, a woman's, I think. Footsteps come towards me and someone undoes the rope that was holding me in. I am yanked out of the bag and thrust into a chair. Before I could adjust my eyes, the two people had my hands and my feet tied, along with the rest of my body tied onto the chair. I blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the light. In the dim firelight, I could see two people in front of me. I was right. It was a man and a woman.

The man had pale blond hair swept across his forehead like Ross', only Ross' hair was…healthier. And Ross was sweet. I felt a pang in my stomach. Ross! Did he find out that I was gone yet? He probably did. Is he looking for me? Did he call the police? What's going on? I almost cried out, but instead I forced myself on sizing my enemies up. This man had startlingly bright green eyes, with a small scar running across his cheek.

The woman was slender and well built, with glossy golden hair made into an elegant bun. Her eyes were a cold and frozen shade of blue, and her lips were built into a smirk.

"Who are you?" I asked finally. The duo did not answer me. "Who's your 'boss'? Where am I? What do you want with me?" I fired my questions quickly and angrily, hoping to get these two off guard. Unfortunately, these two were not the stupid goons that you find in the movies or books. The woman laughed. "We don't answer your questions, girl." She said. "All we know is that we do our job, we get paid. We don't do what we're told, we're out of business." The man told me. "So you're hired workers?" I asked. The woman smiled wickedly. "I prefer the term assassinators, but I suppose you can call us hired workers." I felt a chill go up my spine. Hired workers. I thought back at the plot of the episode we were filming a couple of days ago, where Jack was supposed to be a hired worker. I shuddered. From now on, whenever someone tells me about a 'hired worker', I'm going to run out of the room screaming. That is, if there will be a next time for someone to actually talk to me. I heard a rumble outside of our room. The man grinned. "The boss is here." He said and opened the door. The person who came out made my mouth drop. I shut my mouth quickly. Of course. This always happens.

"Hello, Laura. I hope you are well?" Jack says to me pleasantly. "I'll be well once I slap you across the face for being a miserable jerk!" I screamed and thrashed in my chair. Jack was still smiling, his expression unchanged. He still beamed at me like I was the brightest light in his life. I hated it.

"My friends will come for me, Jack." I said softly. "Someone will. After they find you and me, we'll hand you over to the police." Jack shrugged. "We'll see how far Ross will get." He answered easily. I felt as though someone punched me in the stomach. "What…what do you mean?" I ask shakily. "You see, Laura, I'm pretty sure that you know by now that I liked you from the very beginning." Jack stood up and walked around me. He brushed his hand against my skin. I shuddered. "I knew also that Ross had feelings for you too. So do you know what I did? I decided to make sure that you were mine. Did everything in my power to make sure that you would fall for me. When that didn't work, I came to one conclusion: Eliminate Ross." My eyes bugged out of my head. "What?! You're going to kill him?" I shrieked. Jack held up his hands. "No, no, no, dear Laura. I'm not that vulgar! No, I'm planning on giving him a  
difficult time…a mental issue. It'll be sad to see how the famous Ross Lynch is actually a raving lunatic." Jack told me. That was it. I couldn't take it. "NO!" I screamed and thrashed against the ropes. "He'll be here tonight, I promise you." Jack told me. "We'll all be together at Water Bridge Creek, 11:00 pm." He added. I glared at Jack. "You can't do this!" I yelled. Jack stood up. "Actually, I can." He said softly and with that, he walked out of the doorway. My audience with Jack was over.

Thoughts raced through my head and I couldn't pin one down. Ross…

I felt myself getting numbed. I slid in and out of focus. I wondered if I would be mentally disoriented after I watch Ross get hurt. We only had a couple of hours of freedom...only a couple of hours of knowing each other for real…and Jack had to take it away. I felt a prick of hot anger cut through me. I glanced up at the clock in the wall. It read '10:30 pm'. I held my breath and Jack came running in. "Come on, Laura. We're ready to meet Ross, now, aren't we?" He pulled me up and undid the ropes. He kept the guards behind and in front of me, though, to make sure that I would get in his car and not do anything funny. What nice security. What a gentleman.

I sat in the seat, watching lights go by and the stars flashing in and out in the velvet sky. I closed my eyes and hoped that tonight would not be the last night where Ross would be living. Please.

About twenty minutes later, the car stopped and Jack smiled at me. "Ah, here we are!" He said pleasantly. I looked around, and knew that we were at the Creek. I've been here tons of times with my friends. We'd swim in the water, climb on the trees, pick flowers, and do anything here to keep us entertained. He looked at his watch anxiously and he whispered, "11:00 pm, exactly." We waited and fidgeted for a while, and finally, what seemed like years later, Ross came running in. I glanced at Jack's watch. Ross was one minute late. I didn't care. I ran forward. I barreled into Ross, crying. Ross squeezed me tight. "Are you okay?" He asked me. I smiled up at him through my tears. "I am now." I say softly. Ross grins. "I'm glad." He whispered. "Ross." I stiffened as Jack came walking calmly towards us. "Ross, let's get out of here." I urged him. Ross shook his head. "It'll only take a minute." He said. "We've got to get this under control." I let my fingers slip away from Ross. The world suddenly seemed colder again. I couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't even that cold. "Ross, tell me, you love Laura, yes?" Jack asks. Ross nodded shortly. Jack smiled and sighed. "Unfortunately, I think Laura doesn't belong with you. It's obvious that you do not care well for her." He said. "I knew that you were no good." Ross said sullenly. "You know nothing about Laura. You don't know her as well as I do. You can say that you were meant for her, but you weren't. For goodness' sake, you kidnapped her to say 'Oh yeah, I love you a lot so I took you away from your friends and scared you half to death.'" Ross glared at Jack. "You'll be gone tomorrow morning, Jack." He said softly. "And I don't warn people twice." Ross took my arm and we walked away. And then there was a loud bang. I didn't know what was going on until I felt it. I looked down at my stomach and I realized that blood was seeping through my shirt. "Ross…" I whispered. I stumbled into his arms. Ross caught me. His eyes widened and he turned around. I glanced ever so slowly and saw that Jack was holding a pistol, smoke drifting away from the hole. I turned back around. Ross shouted something, but I couldn't hear it. I closed my eyes and the rest of the world drifted away.

"Laura!"

"Laura!"

"LARUA!"

"Sh! You don't want to wake her!"

"Why not?!"

I opened my eyes a little bit and shut them back. The white lights were too bright, they were burning my eyes. Wait. White lights?

I opened my eyes completely and made out a blurry figure of Ross, Raini, and Calum crowded around my bed. I looked around me and heard a faint beeping noise. "You're awake!" Raini screams. I managed a smile. "Well, now I am, thanks to you." I reply and wince a little. What was going on? Why am I here? Then, I look down. It all came rushing back to me. The kidnapping. Ross and Jack fighting. The bullet.

"Oh…" Yellow spots danced around my vision. I closed my eyes for a minute, wishing my dizziness to fade away. "Laura, are you okay?" Ross asked me. I opened my eyes again. "I'm fine." I whispered. I looked down and realized I was in a nightgown. "What happened?" I asked. Ross smiled sadly. "After you got shot, I drove you home. I put you into the hospital and basically called Raini and Calum to get here now. The director also received the message. He wasn't too happy, though." Ross grimaced. Raini laughed. "You should have heard him." She giggled. "He was all like, 'WHY ARE ALL OF MY ACTORS GETTING HURT?! ARGH!'" I cracked a little smile. Calum nodded enthusiastically. "Then he asked us if there was some love triangle that he didn't know about." I felt my cheeks grow warm. Ross coughed into his fist. "Did you say anything about it?" I asked Calum. He shook his head. "I really wanted to, but I figured that he'll have to figure it out himself. Or, you guys can tell him personally if you want." I exchanged a look with Ross and we both shook our heads. "We'll just tell him later." I said. Raini looked at the both of us quizzically. "You guys would lie to our director?" Ross shrugged. "I don't really want to, and trust me, I wouldn't, but you know, we kind of just figured out this entire thing, so we might need to think about it first." He replied. Raini nodded and said, "Fair enough." Right as we were having a bit of a moment of silence, the hospital door banged open and in came Adeline.

Just what I needed.

Adeline was furious. Her eyes were bulging out of her head, and she had looks ready to kill.

"ROSS!" She screeched. "YOU'RE DATING LAURA?!" Ross winced and rubbed his ears. "Who told her?" I asked promptly. Calum shrugged. "I didn't say anything." Raini shook her head. "I've been looking for you with Calum so I have no clue." She responded. Adeline was not a happy camper with our answers. She stormed up to me and yelled until my ears began to buzz from the noise she was making. "YOU ARE SUCH A SLUT!" She screams. I blink at her. "What?" I ask her. "THAT'S RIGHT!" She yells. "YOU'RE PATHETIC, EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS LAME, AND YOU FOLLOW AROUND EVERYONE LIKE YOU'RE SOME SORT OF FOLLOWER! IT'S STUPID! YOU'RE SUCH A NERD IT MAKES ME SICK!" For emphasis to show me how much she hated me, she slapped me across the face, right then and there. My eyes stung. It wasn't because of the slap across the face. It was because of the anger that was raging around my chest. I sat up straight, trying to blink the yellow spots of light that were dancing around my vision. "I hate you." I whispered softly. Adeline's eyes went wider. "What did you say?" She asks me, her voice was no longer a yell, but it was still rather loud. "That's right. I hate you. You never do anything, Adeline. You're a person who has no self-confidence whatsoever. You carry yourself around thinking that you're perfect and a little Miss Princess, but guess what? You're not." I snap and felt all of the anger, all of the snarky comments I had within me pour out. "You've been mean to me the second we met. You pushed me around like I was some sort of servant. You call me things that aren't even me. You won't accept any help I give you, and even when I do try to be friendly, you shove me off and try to make me feel horrible. You think that you're so amazing? You're NOT." I finish and lean back. "I hate you." I say again. Adeline's eyes were practically swelling into golf balls. I felt tears rolling down my face, but I didn't care. I was proud of telling Adeline how incredibly stupid she was. I wanted to hold onto this. Ross slowly stood up and held my hand. "You can go now, Adeline." He said slowly. Adeline walked stiffly out of the room. Raini turned to look at me. Then, she burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, Laura, I can't believe that you just dissed Adeline!" She said happily. I smiled a little. "I think she should have seen it coming." I admitted. Ross laughed and hugged me. I felt myself blushing a little. He grinned at me sheepishly. "I'm just glad that Adeline will be leaving us alone…for a while." Raini nudged at me. "Besides, I think she'll be scared of you now." She told me. Calum grinned and mimicked Adeline's anger. "OMG, ROSS IS DATING LAURA! I WISH I HAD THE HEAD TO SAY SOMETHING CLEVERER, BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE I'M SO STUPID!" Therefore, Calum began prancing around as though he was wearing high heels and pretended to slather lip gloss over his mouth. We all began laughing again and I was more contented than ever.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi! Sorry that I did not update for a while! I was rather busy with school work and friendship business so I couldn't really bring myself to write much, but I finally did! Thanks for the support as usual, and also as usual, you guys totally rock! Anyways, this is not the end yet, since some of you have been wondering, 'Now that Ross and Laura like each other and actually admitted it, this story is finished, right?' Not quite, my dear friends, for love has many stages, and we've only come to two weensy stages of love. (First stage, total crushing and second stage, confession. Don't forget about the many other stages!) I'm plannning on making more twists and turns for this story! ;) Now, I hope you find this story intresting, and I know that you Raura fans will be a little suprised at one point, so PM me or write a review on what you thought about the context. I DO NOT MEAN TO OFFEND ANYONE with this bit, I just pick it up everywhere whenever I'm reading about a celeb couple. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8.

Ross—

"Laura, what happened while you were gone?"

"We heard that you and Laura may be an 'object'! What happened, would you say that she's your 'princess'?"

"Is it true that you were sick and Laura took care of you?"

My head was buzzing with questions as reporters crowded us. I had just taken Laura out of the hospital, and suddenly, newscasters and reporters were flocking around us. I felt my cheeks flush as every single question was rocketed at the both of us. Without answering, I whispered to Laura to get in the car. She nodded quickly ran over into my car.

"Ross, we want answers!"

"What happened?"

"Are you and Laura officially dating?"

I ignored everything and I walked towards the car. I opened the door and slammed it. I buckled in a seat belt and placed my hand on the wheels. I glanced at Laura. Her face was white, and she shrunk down in her seat a bit more as I started the engine.

We started down the drive and when we were out of sight from the reporters, I held Laura's hand. She looked at me and smiled shakily. "Laura, are you okay?" I asked softly. Laura nodded her head jerkily. "No you're not." I told her, having a ghost of a smile on my face. Laura laughed nervously. "It's that obvious, huh?" She told me. I nodded. "Well, I don't know. I guess I'm just kind of shocked about how much people are interested in this." Laura told me. I shook my head. "I know. It's ridiculous." I replied. "But hey," I flashed a smile at Laura. "It'll blow over. Plus, people are going to find out sooner or later, just right now isn't quite the time, right?" Laura nodded gratefully. "Come on, then." I said as cheerfully as I could.

I parked the car next to the set and we got out.

The director was waiting for us.

His face was flushed. "YOU TWO!" He shouted. "COME OVER HERE! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!" Laura and I exchanged nervous looks we followed the director silently.

He ushered us in and slammed the door. "What the hell is going on?" He asked us. I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" I asked slowly. I had a bad feeling where the director was coming from. The director slapped something on his desk. My eyes widened. It was a magazine cover with the bolded words, '**_Ross Lynch and Laura Marano: Dating?' _**On the cover, a photo of Laura and I was splashed, enlarged.

"You have no idea how crazy it's been since the entire stunt that Jack played. As soon as the media found out, everyone was in a flurry. People were writing articles, making interviews, and then the cat came out of the bag that while you were sick, Laura took care of you. You can bet that rumors are spreading faster than ever." The director told us. He rubbed his eyebrows in worry. He looked at us carefully. "Are you guys actually dating?" He asked us. Laura glanced up at me awkwardly. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth. I closed it and then opened it again. "We're not really dating; we kind of just found out that we liked each other two days ago." The director raised his eyebrows at us and began laughing. We looked at him, confused. He was roaring with laughter, slapping his hand on his knees. Then he stood upright and laughed a bit more. When he regained control over himself, he replied, "I wouldn't be surprised. You two have been looking at each other funny the first time you both met each other." My cheeks burst into a red color. The director didn't pay attention. He leaned in close to the both of us and whispered, "You two may like each other, but you can't reveal it. Not now, anyways." I smiled nervously. "Why's that?" I asked. The director rolled his eyes. "I would think that they both of you know by now. Whatever news the media gets on, they flub it up. Turn it into something ugly. Make rumors, shoot candid shots. Do you want that happening?" His eyes flared, daring us for an answer. We both shook our heads. The director nodded. "Exactly. So until this dies down, you two have to stay low. The media will find out about your little love story at one point, but from then on, you have to keep quiet and low profile." He told us. He waved his hand. Our audience with the director was over.

I opened the door for Laura and we headed outside.

We were almost immediately recaptured by the reporters. There were flashes and I blinked a couple of times to get the yellow spots out of my vision.

"We just want the truth!"

"What really happened?"

"Is Jack really arrested? Why?"

I felt my head spin and I grabbed Laura's hand. We guided each other out of the mob. Finally, we were rescued by the reporter, who came out screaming and shouting at the reporters to mind their own beeswax, and when they are needed, they will be called to.

"Now, GIT!" The director yelled. "That's right, get your big butts back in your trucks and get a whooping away from here! NOW!" The director shoved the reporters away as they protested and took more shots of Laura and me. When we watched the trucks safely get out of sight from us, the director sighed. "Idiots." He whispered angrily. I couldn't help but to feel a bit annoyed at the reporters myself. "Can't they leave us alone?" I mumbled to myself. Laura sighed. "It's amazing how dimwitted some media reporters can be." She said dully. I laughed and we went to the set where Calum and Raini were waiting for us.

"The reporters didn't shut up!" Calum cried indignantly. "The entire time, they were all like, 'Is Laura dating Ross?' 'When did they get together?' Blah blah blah. Does it really matter?" He says. Raini shrugged. "Obviously, it does." Her eyes flashed. "These people have nothing to do, so they would rather get some facts and turn it into something messed up." Laura put up her hands. "Relax you guys, nothing happened." Raini fumed. "Did the director even show you the article that the magazine had?" I shook my head. "We just saw the headline." Raini threw down the magazine at our feet. "Read it for yourselves." She said angrily. "Then you'll see what we're getting at." Laura and I exchanged curious glances and we both read with wide eyes:

**_The two main actors of the Disney Channel TV show 'Austin and Ally', (Ross Lynch and Laura Marano,) are more than just 'friends' as they call themselves on the show and in interviews. Sources tell us that these two actors are officially dating! "One day, Ross was sick and everything, and Laura actually took care of him! For a complete day!" An anonymous speaker declares to Cheetah Beat magazine. What does this mean? Of course, our immediate reply was that it was clear that these two stars were in a 'just friends' kind of relationship. However, we received photos from super star Adeline Smith that proved the rumors right. (See photo below.) It is also known that right after Ross and Laura confessed to each other of their undying love, Laura was kidnapped mysteriously…or not! Actor Jack Murkowski was a guest star for a brand new episode of 'Austin and Ally', and Ross suddenly had competition! Jack also was eyeing on Laura Marano, and in envy of Ross winning over his crush, he kidnaps her away from him! Can you say drama? Of course, the famous Ross Lynch refused to let Laura down and sigh, he rescues her! However, in the process, Laura was shot in the stomach, but recovered shortly thereafter. "It's amazingly incredible, to see how much Ross and Laura feel for each other." Maya Knoller, a fan, says happily to Cheetah Beat. "My friends and I have been…shipping on them ever since we watched the first episode of 'Austin and Ally'!" While many fans are happy for the 'Raura' couple, other fans are not. "Ross and Laura say that they're friends, why couldn't they keep it that way? It's unfair for the fans who are already crushing on Ross! I've been looking for him for years now! Die, Laura!" Fanetta Jordan types angrily to Cheetah Beat. Other fans have rather mixed feelings about this relationship. "Personally, I think that it's alright for Ross and Laura to date each other, because if they like each other, fine, let them like each other. But I just find it funny that they didn't open it up. Is it that they want to fool the public? We, the fans, especially deserve to know." Sade Birchman exclaims. As you can tell, Ross and Laura have some rough waters to navigate through! What do you think about 'Raura'? Do you disprove it or do you think that it's high time that they began dating? Text and email in answers now!_**

I slowly put the magazine down. Laura's eyes were the size of golf balls. "'Die Laura'?" She whispers and winces. "Ouch." I shook with anger. "Who do these people think they are?" I yelled. Raini gestured at me to keep my voice down. "The reporters might still be around, idiot!" She hissed at me. Calum stared sadly at the magazine. "Do people really have nothing better to do?" He said sadly, shaking his head. Laura laughed bitterly. "I guess so." She says quietly and stares into space for a while. Then, she snaps her eyes wider and stood up. "Adeline gave Cheetah Beat the pictures!" She screamed. I look at her. "What?" I ask, digesting the news. Laura began pacing around the room. "Ross, remember when I was at your house? With the pillows and stuff? And Adeline barged in?" She asks me. I nodded slowly. "Well, when I was getting out the door, I heard a small 'click' noise! It was Adeline taking a photo of me!" My eyes bulged. "So if Adeline took that picture, she must have taken more!" Raini said excitedly. I bent my head and banged it on the wall. "I hate this." I muttered under my breath. "Just one date and everything blows up in our faces." I whispered. Laura placed a hand on my arm. "It's going to be okay." She said wobbly, but I could still see the shock in her eyes. I nodded. "Sure." I answer. "Everything is going to be fine. Just fine."

Everything did NOT go fine.

The second we began filming the episode, Laura's phone could not stop ringing from alerts that people were tweeting about her. Some of the things were really harsh. At one point, Laura began crying and she walked into the bathroom to take five. Raini went in with her and is now trying to come her down. I looked down at Laura's phone and snatch it up, reading some of the tweets.

**_"Wow! It's great that you and Ross are dating! You go, girl!"_**

**_"I can't believe you! You're such a slut and you're just going to get Ross hurt!"_**

**_"How the freaking hell does Jack Murkowski like you? Or Ross? You're ugly and you've got the voice of a goat!"_**

**_"Why don't you go bury yourself alive and leave Ross to me!"_**

I placed the phone down on the table, feeling dizzy from reading all of the tweets. No wonder Laura was so upset. There was a small 'ding' noise and I looked down at Laura's phone again, sucking in my breath at what the message said.

**_"You know what? If you knew what was good for you, you'll go kill yourself right now!" _**

That sent me right over the edge. Laura came out of the bathroom, her eyes red and puffy with Raini murmuring comforting words at her side. I couldn't bear to see Laura get even more upset. Wordlessly, I grabbed Laura's hand. "Ross…?" The director asks me questioningly. I don't say anything. "We'll be back tomorrow for the next airing." I say shortly and I push Laura into my car. I walk into the driver's seat and I buckle in Laura's seat belt. "Ross, where are we going?" Laura asks me. I didn't look at her. "Ross, what's going on?" She asks me a bit louder. Finally, I look up at her. "Laura, you know what I do whenever I'm upset at someone?" I ask her. Laura shook her head. "Make music?" She guessed. I shook my head and gave her the happiest smile I could muster. I took her hand. "We're going to go on a little trip." I say.


	9. Chapter 9

**When times are particularly bad and hard for me, I usually like to write about positive memories. And it usually takes a while, because hey, when you're going through a tough time, it takes a couple of more hours to recall what had happened when you weren't doing the wrong things. So, sorry about the late update. :( I was kind of caught up with crazy things happening, so I'm not afraid to admit I got a little depressed. (I know that depression is an actual mental thing to take care of, but I wasn't really THAT depressed. I was just thinking about sad things for a while and I didn't smile or laugh for a week or so.) Two days ago, I just stood up and declared that you know what? If I'm not gonna have a happy ending, then Ross and Laura in the story will have a happy ending. ;) so here I am! (This story is, again, I repeat, NOT GOING TO FINISH BECAUSE I HAVE WAAAAAAAY TOO MUCH PLANNED FOR RAURA!) Anyways, thanks for all of the constant support, you guys! Oh yeah, I also remember reading from reviews that some of you guys were slightly confused about the last chapter, so I hope you guys don't mind saying what you were confused about. (I'm always looking for improvement.) Anyways, thank you so much! Luv ya bunches! XOXO**

Chapter 9.

Laura—

"Wait, what did you say?" I asked Ross, confused.

Ross smiled tightly at me again, the kind of smile that I know when someone is placing on his face to make me feel better.

"We're going to go on a little trip." He repeated himself. I raised my eyebrow at him. "Why? We're already behind on the show, we have to practice more." I say. Ross waved his hand recklessly. "Nah, we need some time off." He said pleasantly and we drove off to my house. "Grab your stuff that you need." He told me. "I'm going to my home and I'll be back here within fifteen, twenty minutes top." I nodded silently and he flashed me another strained smile and I watched him drive away.

I walked into my home and wordlessly dragged out a suitcase. I automatically began filling it with cloths and such, replaying Ross' reaction in the car in my head. The nervousness in his voice, the hard edge in his eyes, the slight tremble in his fingers as he grasped my hand…I shook the image away from my head. I grabbed my camera and fingered it carefully and placed it in a handbag. I put my wallet and searched around for my phone. I stared quizzically at my purse, wondering where I had put it. Then, a sudden thought dawned to me.

I had left it back at the set! I grimaced. I couldn't really go anywhere without my phone! I sighed. I'll just have to get Ross to drive me back to the set to pick up my phone and then we'll go to…wherever Ross wanted to take me. I allowed myself a small smile. Ross. He was a good guy. I turned red at my own thoughts and shook them off.

I walked back outside, handbag and suitcase in tow. Ross was just driving in. He got up and smiled at me. "Are you ready?" He asks me. I nodded. When I buckle myself into the seat, I say, "Ross, can we go back to the set for a quick second?" Ross looks at me, alarmed. "Why?" He asks me. "I left my phone there." I replied. Ross waved his hand at me carelessly. "It's fine. I'll call Raini to give it to you when we come back." I looked at him, puzzled. "No, but I need my phone." I reply slowly. Ross shrugged. "It's fine." He repeats. "You'll just use my phone for everything." With that, he gave me a shy smile, and how else could I deal with that? I smiled back and nodded at him, but I could tell from the flickers in his eyes that he was hiding something from me. However, I waved away the thought. Ross always did the right things. If he was hiding or lying to me, then it must be for a good reason, for a reason that I can't quite grasp. I closed my eyes and drifted into sleep as he drove me far away from the town.

I opened my eyes slowly and sat up. My car seat was leaned all the way back, almost perfectly horizontal. I turned to look at the driver's seat. Ross was staring out the window with wide, pleased eyes. I looked wordlessly at what he was gazing at and gasped quietly.

Outside was paradise.

I'm not talking Hawaii paradise, but this kind of paradise was just beautiful in its own way.

The trees were large and bore large, green leaves that was adorned with pink flowers in star shapes. A stream snaked down the trees, filled with bubbles as fish darted around the water playfully. Sunlight streamed through the trees and from a far distance, I could spy a bird crowding over her nest as the little ones hatched. I stepped out of the car, hypnotized with all of the sights. The other senses washed over me with a soft, gentle wave.

The sweet fragrance of pollen mingled in the air as butterflies and honey bees darted from flower to flower, from bush to bush. The fresh, satisfactory, earthy smell of soil filled within me like some sort of sugary drink. I bent down low at the grass and watched earthworms pop out of the soil. A gentle breeze brushed at my hair and my face, whispering sweet words in my ear. I turned around and faced Ross, who was sitting on the car's hood, grinning at my silent, wondrous expression. "Ross…what is this place?" I ask softly, gazing around my surroundings once more. "Middletown Forest." Ross replied. "It's where I used to run off to whenever things got bad." I shifted my gaze down to the ground and concentrated on another earth worm poking around the grass. "Has things gotten really bad?" I ask softly. Ross gave a forced laugh. "I guess so, yeah." My smile slowly disappeared and I continued to watch the earthworm. Ross sighed and stood up. He took my hand. "It's fine, Laura." He says to me. He pulls me into an embrace. "I won't let people hurt you." He whispers into my ear. He looked at me and smiled. "You know what the cool thing is?" He asks. I shook my head. He smiled even wider. "I never showed this place to anyone." My eyes widened. "You never showed it to anyone?" I repeated, disbelieved. He shook his head. "Not even your family?" I ask. Ross shook his head. "Nah, I just wanted to have something on my own, you know?" He took my hands again and gave me that sweet, shy smile that always melted my heart. I felt my cheeks rise into a blush. "But I'm sharing it with you." He added and spread one of his arms into a wide arc around us. I smiled again. He gave me a playful grin. "I actually made myself a house here." He told me. "Well, not that I made the house myself, but I made some people make a private home here for me." He gestured for me to get in the car. "Shall we?"

I set my suitcase down and stared around the house that Ross had made. It was delightfully filled with touches of nature to maintain the balance of old fashioned Mother Nature and modern society. The house's exterior had green paint coated over it, with a white door and porch. Big windows were scattered around the house, with white curtains billowing in the breeze. Inside, there were wooden polished floors with rugs and carpets and a fireplace was crackling with flame. "I called ahead a person to fix and clean this place up." Ross explained to me. He showed me the guestroom, which had pale blue colored walls. I opened a window and allowed the wind to sweep over my hair. A leaf was dangling on a twig just a little beyond my window. I reached my arm out as far as I could and realized with satisfactory and delight that I could actually touch the leaves in this tree. A bed with white and blue covers and pillows was in the center of the room, along with a white wooden dresser and desk. I set my suitcase down on the bed and unpacked my things. "How long are we going to stay here?" I asked Ross. "Two days." He answered. "Maybe more, if things back home don't die down." He added quietly. I nodded. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Dinner will be ready in a half an hour." He declared before he went down the stairs. I leaned over the rail and called down to him, "You can cook?" I heard the faint sound of laughter escaping Ross' mouth. "You've never lived till you've eaten my food." I rolled my eyes and I went back in my room. I set my clothes into the dresser and placed my camera on top of the desk. I walked around the upper floor for a while and found the bathroom. I took a quick shower and came out, smelling like lemons and honey. I went downstairs, hungry and pleasantly find spaghetti laid out on the table. "Take out is usually better, but I think my cooking is a fair match." Ross says to me as we sit down. I grin and eat a spoonful of the dinner. I grin even wider. "Ross, this is amazing!" I say, surprised. Ross laughed. "I did tell you that you never lived till you've eaten my food." He told me. I chuckled. "You've got that right." The rest of the dinner went by fast, and we both ended up sitting back, feeling content in the stomach and the mind. "You want to go outside on the porch?" Ross asks me. "You have to see the sunset at this place." I nod quickly and we stand up. We walked over to the porch and sat down on the white washed wood. We waited quietly for a couple of minutes and slowly, peacefully, a ray of pink light danced across the sky. The pink faded into a nice, pretty lilac color and the trees' leaves reflected off of the light, showing patches of faded sunlight on the ground. The sky gradually turned into a deep violet color which was soon decorated with the brightest stars imaginable. I sighed, watching the glittery diamonds in the sky. Ross nudged my shoulder. I looked at him and he gestured at the ground around us and I squealed under my breath. Fireflies was lighting up the night, flying lazily around us. Lights flickered on and off, until it seemed that the forest was some sort of scene from a fairy tale. Ross caught a fire fly and he showed it to me. He cupped his hands and I peered in, looking at the orange and black wings and then focusing onto the yellow, cheerful light that was glowing under it. I laughed as it flew out of Ross' hands. "What do you think, Laura?" He whispered in my ear. I felt a shudder go down my back. It was a happy shudder, though. "This is amazing." I say to Ross and I held his hand for what seemed like forever. At last, I yawned and we realized that it was late.

"Come on." Ross laughs and we walk back into the house. "My room is right across the hall if you need me." Ross tells me and points to the green door. I nod and blow him a kiss. "Goodnight, Ross." I say happily. "Goodnight, Laura." He laughs and he goes into his room. I quickly change into my sleeping clothes and tuck myself into bed. I stare up at the ceiling and peer out the window, and eventually my eyes close slowly and I am entered into a dream land of kind fireflies and Ross, my prince charming.

I opened my eyes and stretched, at first very confused where I was. I looked around myself and realized with a burst of joy that I was with Ross in his house in the forest, surrounded by utterly beautiful things to be discovered along with a fairytale coming to life in this landscape. I leapt to my feet, threw open the window, and smiled to myself as the sun came up. I took a quick shower and walked down the stairs, where I found Ross already setting up breakfast. "Already awake?" Ross asks me. I nodded. He grinned and we sat down. I couldn't help but to smile at everything that he said, about everything that he got excited about. Ross stopped talking and he looked at me. "Are you okay?" He asked me. I nod. Ross inspects me for a little while longer, and for a couple of silent moments, the air between us went intense for a reason that I couldn't quite explain. Finally, Ross' face broke into a smile. "Come on, I gotta show you something in the woods." He told me. He grabbed my hand and we ran out of the porch and we walked a little deeper into the forest. We walked for a while, not saying anything. At last, Ross stopped and we were standing in front of a large, impressive oak tree. There was a rather large hole in the middle, and Ross made a soft cooing noise. He gestured for me to follow him and I looked into the hole and smiled. A baby bird was poking out of its shell, twittering a happy song. "Ross, it's so adorable!" I whisper happily. Ross grinned. "I figured that the birds might be hatching now." He told me as we walked away. "It's always a cool thing to watch." I nod in agreement. When we reached the house, I sat down on the porch and continued to watch in awe around me what an amazing place this was. Ross held my hand and we were all feeling completely at peace until Ross' phone began ringing. I giggled as Ross turned bright red. "You want to get that?" I asked him. Ross nodded gratefully and he replied the call.

Ross' reaction was immediate. His smile faded away from his lips. His eyes went wide. He shot a quick glance at me, and then cried out, "No! We can't! Not now!" I looked at him questioningly. "Please, Director, you can't just throw us out there! Do you know why we took a break in the first place?" There was a pause. "Yes, but-" Ross juts in. "Things are going crazy, why admit now?" I had a sudden feeling in my stomach and realized that our visit to this paradise was going to be cut off. Ross slowly nods and he hung up the phone. "What's the matter?" I ask him. Ross sighed. "We're going to have to go through an interview." He told me. I shrugged and kept my voice light. "Ross, we've been to tons of interviews before. What's so bad about this one?" I ask, but I had the bad feeling that I knew what Ross was going to say next. "No, Laura. The interview is supposed to be about us. Dating. And relationships…?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! Quick heads-up, the end of this chapter may seem as though this is the end of the story but it isn't! (Sorry, I'm a little paranoid about people thinking that this story is over.) Anyways, sorry for the late update! It's been real busy for me this month and it's only gonna get more busy! :( However, summer vacation is almost here and that means more writing time! YAY! :) Enjoy! Don't forget to review! Luv ya bunches! 3**

Chapter 10.

Ross—

I could basically feel the heaviness in the air as I started up the engine for the ride home. Laura pressed her forehead on the window and sighed. "We'll come back here soon." I said awkwardly. Laura nodded. "I don't want a stupid interview." She said in a small voice. I sighed again. "Neither do I, Laura. But you do realize that if we reject this interview, then it will make things more suspicious, right?" I told her. Laura didn't say a word and she stared out to the trees as we sped past them. "Do you think we should tell the truth?" She asked. I glanced at her. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide. I took her hand. "I hate to say this, but I think we will." I said softly. Laura nodded shakily. "Besides, we can't hide this forever, right?" She whispers. I nod. "I hate this." She mutters to no one in particular. "The second we have a good thing to ourselves, something has to come up to make sure that it's taken away. It's not fair!" Laura cried out the last part and then realized that she had just said her thought aloud. She clamped a hand over her mouth. She looked at me, her cheeks growing pink. I chuckled. "It's fine, Laura. Trust me; I could say so many horrible things about this now." Laura allowed herself a small giggle. "That obvious, right?" She says. I nod. We didn't say anything for the rest of the ride home.

The second I open the car door when I get to the set, the director is waving papers at us, which seemed usual enough. "You guys heard about the interview, right?" He practically yells at us. I rub my ear. HONESTLY, that man has got some serious screaming issues. Laura nodded patiently. "Yes, Director." She replies. He sighs. "What are you going to tell these people?" He asked us. Laura glanced up at me and I spoke for the both of us. "We're going to tell them the truth." The director's mouth dangled open in surprise at first but then he quickly shut it. He waved his hand. "I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. You two are always obsessed with the 'being good because people are looking up to us' sort of junk. Oh, well. I can't say that I'm not proud of you, though, kids." With that, he slaps me on the back and squeezes Laura into a quick hug. "Get ready." He tells us promptly after. "Reporters are anxious to hear about this new bit of entertainment." With that, he hurries off. Laura smiles at me and we depart. My stylist, Marcy begins talking to me nonstop. She chews bubblegum 24/7 and will not stop talking, even if a nuclear bomb went off in the middle of the world. She's always the one who will keep chattering on and on, no matter what the situation is. Today, she was talking a bit faster than usual, which I suppose means that she's nervous. She kept a wide smile on her face, but her hands trembled a bit as she applied a tiny bit of make up on me. Marcy handed me my outfit for the interview and I changed in the bathroom. When I came out, Marcy gave me thumbs up. "You'll do fine." She told me. I grinned at her and stepped outside. I see Laura waiting anxiously outside my door. She looked up at me nervously. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "Waiting for me to come out indecent?" I tease. Laura giggled. "Nah, I'm just waiting for you. I don't want to face the interviewer alone." I took her hand and before I could lose my nerve, I kissed her on the forehead gently. "Don't worry. I'll protect you." I say quietly. Laura's face slowly turns into a soft, pink color, but she's smiling shyly. "Okay." She says. With that, we head off into the building where the director had instructed us to meet the interviewer. I opened the door and camerawomen and men usher us in. "You two will be live in five!" One of the men yells. Laura looks at me, the color drained from her face. "Live?" She whispers to me shakily. I don't answer. I'm rather shocked myself. Someone pushes us into chairs and we face our interviewer. She reaches forward and shakes her hand with us. "Hi, I'm Arianna, and I'll be your interviewer for today." She gives us a big grin and we half smile back, but thoughts are racing through my head and I can't seem to pin them down. "5…4….3…2…!" The cameraman yells and signals Arianna to begin talking. She flashes a smile at the camera. "Hi, I'm Arianna Baker and I'm with you on the latest news of today's newest celebrity couple!" She announces in a perky, overly happy smile. "Well, we know who had too much coffee this morning." Laura whispers in the corner of her mouth to me. I stifle a snort and Arianna turns her attention on us. "I'm here with Ross Lynch and Laura Marano, who are rumored that they are actually dating!" She looks at us expectantly. "What would you two say about this?" She asks. Laura begins laughing nervously and I try not to let my face get too red. "Well, um…" I felt my voice stutter and then I took a deep breath. "We…like each other." I say haltingly. Arianna raises a 'surprised' eyebrow at me. "Really? According to all of the other news, you two have been denying your relationship this entire time." I felt my cheeks grow warmer. "We weren't really sure if we could confess that time." I admitted. "There were also several people who weren't quite happy with this arrangement, so we had no choice but to fib through our teeth." Arianna nodded. "So how are you two feeling since you guys just confessed the truth?" She asks. Laura answers this time. "I don't want the fans to get mad at Ross or me about lying, because we really are sorry about this." She turns to the camera. "Of course we didn't want to, but we were scared that it would turn into something ugly. However, I'm not ashamed to say the truth now." Laura wore a smile on her face, but her eyes were steely. "There are also hate messages to the both of you, especially Laura. How do you two feel when you read those messages?" Arianna asks. Laura's face closes up and I feel cold in the pit of my stomach. I look at Arianna carefully. "What hate messages? I don't think I received any." Arianna holds up her phone and says to the camera, "Ross, why don't you read the Tweets and comments to you?" I stare suspiciously at Arianna and take the phone from her. I feel my heart sinking lower and lower as I read each message.

**_"Ross Lynch, you are such a liar! HOW CAN YOU MESS WITH US LIKE THAT?"_**

**_"You are gonna lose fans, Ross. I can't believe that you came that low."_**

**_"I'm just disappointed. I don't care if the media doesn't know, but how come you won't tell the fans? We're the reasons that you're a big star!"_**

**_"This is what I get for actually liking Ross Lynch."_**

**_"Laura + Ross = GO DIE IN A HOLE!"_**

I felt my ears ringing as I gave Arianna back her phone.

Arianna watched my eyes triumphantly. "Well, it's definitely a shock." I manage to get out. Laura looks up at me, sadness inching slowly in her eyes. I look at Arianna. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually rather upset with all of this." I turned to the camera, which was recording every single word I was saying. "I appreciate my fans, I really do. They are right, they are the only reasons why I'm in the show business, but isn't my life important? I care for someone else, and if you were all truly fans, then you would understand." I took Laura's hand. She looks at me, her eyes shining. "That goes for Laura, too. Quit with all of the hate messages, you aren't helping anyone. She's my world right now, and I don't need people with cold hearts tearing her down." I gave the coldest, iciest stare at the camera, hoping that everyone out there would get the message. Laura made a squeaking noise in the back of her throat and Arianna had tears in her eyes. "That was a wonderful speech." She choked out. I looked at Laura and ever so slightly rolled my eyes. "Just before we go, I have one more question for the two of you." She says. I look at her. "When did you guys like each other?" She asks. Laura smiles up at me and faces Arianna. "I liked him the second I saw him." She said proudly. "As soon as I saw that I was working with him, I automatically fell in love." Laura gave me a bigger smile and she kisses me on the cheek. I felt my cheeks grow warm where her lips touched them. Arianna giggled a little. "And how about you, Ross? When did Laura catch your eye?" I smiled at the memory. "It was the same thing." I said. "As soon as I saw Laura walking across the room, I couldn't help but to feel attracted to her." Arianna laughed again and turned to the camera. "Well, there you have it, folks. Ross Lynch and Laura Marano are a happy couple with happy dreams for the future! See you guys later!" With that, the camera stopped rolling. Laura sighed with relief and she squeezed my hand. I looked down at her. She punched my arm playfully and we stood up. "Thanks for the interview, Arianna." I say and Arianna nods enthusiastically. "Any time!" She replies. With that, we leave.

"How did the interview go?" Calum asks me when I get home. I jumped and looked at the couch he was sitting on. "When did you get here?" I ask. Calum grinned. "I know where your spare key is, Ross." He told me pleasantly. I smiled and rolled my eyes. Calum stood up. "So, how did the interview go?" He asked me. "It was great." I say. "I think things will be a lot quieter starting from here and out." Calum patted me on the back. "That's great, buddy." He said happily. I laugh and then we hear a knock on the door. The front door swings open quietly and Laura was standing there, in a dress that seemed to make her glow. "Ross, are you ready?" She asks softly with a smile. I nod. Calum looks from Laura to me, then from me to Laura. "Oh." He says, giving me a wink. "I see what's going on here." I smile and gesture out the door. "After you." I say. Calum grins and whispers, "Nice job, Ross."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi! I'm updating this chapter as fast as I can to make up for the super late-ness of my update from the last chapter. Anyways, thanks for the support and everything you guys! I was pleasantly surprised when I read that I currently have over 7,900 views. :) Not to mention that I have about 40 followers. Thank you so much! According to some of my friends, that isn't a lot on Fan Fiction, but I don't care. YOU GUYS ARE SO AWESOME. I'm just so glad that people like my writing, you know? 3 Anyways, I've got to ask for advice, since I want to hear advice from people that I can count on, and so far, a lot of you guys are people that I can count on for support. ;) So here's the question: Would a friend respect you no matter what? Even if you made the worst mistake possible? Would you, as a true friend, still accept your friend for who he/she is, no matter what he/she did? Or would you leave her/him because you just can't trust her/him? I'm facing this question in my life a lot, and I would like to know other opinions when it comes to friendship. PM me, or write your answer in the review. I'm all ears. On that note, thanks for the support, don't forget to review, and I LOVE YOU GUYS! Katierosefun, out!**

Chapter 11.

Laura—

I sidled up to Ross. "What should we do now?" I asked. Ross grinned at me and gave me an once-over. "Did you change clothes?" He asked. I nodded and twirled in my spring dress. It was a cheerful green color, decorated with navy blue polka-dots. The dress reached up to my knees, and the fabric was light and breezy, making it addictive to twirl and spin around in. Ross flopped on the couch and I sat down next to him. "I'm glad the interview is over." He whispered. I looked at him and smiled. "Thanks for protecting me like that." I say softly. Ross laughed a little. "How can I not protect you? I told you, you're my world and everything right now." Before I could say anything, he leans in and places his lips onto mine. I feel my heart rate speed up quickly, and an unspeakable happiness rise in my throat. I closed my eyes and put my hands around his neck, pulling him closer. Ross gets the motive and puts his arms around my waist and we kiss together like that. Despite all of the giddiness that was going through my mind, I had enough sense to think of what a fairytale kiss was like. And this was it.

I opened my eyes finally and Ross opened his. I lay my head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent. He smelled good, like pine trees and air freshener. Ross stroked my hair. I smiled to myself, thinking about how long I've waited for this moment. I felt Ross' head lay onto my own shoulder, his breath coming in and out in rhythmic beats. I sighed and closed my eyes.

I didn't know how much time passed, but it was morning when I woke up. I woke up first, and realized that my head was on Ross' chest. My eyes went wide, and I leapt to my feet. I felt my heart racing. What happened? Then I remembered about the kiss last night. _Oh._ I must have fallen asleep…with Ross! I squealed and covered my eyes. I couldn't help myself. I peeked through the cracks of my fingers and watched Ross groggily wake up. He looked around, and then looked at me. He looked at my slightly rumpled dress and looked at the wrinkles in his shirt that I made while I was sleeping. He had the same reaction as I did. He jumped up and his eyes were wide with panic. "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" He yelled. I felt my cheeks growing warm and wailed, "I DON'T KNOW!" Ross paced around the room. "We kissed last night, right?" He asks. I nodded. He closes his eyes, frowning, trying to recall the events. "Oh, god." He muttered. "What is it?" I ask. "You fell asleep on my shoulder, and when you did, I fell backwards and I was on my back, right? I meant to wake you up after a while, but I fell asleep." I put my hands in front of my face again. Ross mumbles something unintelligible. "I can't believe this." I say hopelessly. Ross shrugs, but his face was lined with worry and shock. "We just dozed off while hugging." He said to no one in particular. I looked around the room for a possible nook or cranny to hide in. Silently, I crept to a corner of the room and put my head in my hands. Ross took a glance at me and causally walked up to me. "Laura?" He whispered. I shook my head. Ross chuckled and took my hands. "You don't need to be scared. You know that I'm not like that." He says. He smiles at me warmly and I have no choice but to smile back. I felt myself relaxing and we sat down at a table. "I'll make breakfast." I said and stood up. I bustled around, picking up pans and utensils and began cooking some eggs. Ross watched me move around and stood up. He placed his arms around my waist and placed his head on my back. I stiffened for a minute, but relaxed. "Ross…?" I asked questioningly. Ross smiled at me. "What? You don't trust me?" He asks. I laugh and kiss him on the cheek. "I don't know." I say. "I guess I'm just jittery after everything, you know?" Ross looks at me in the eye. "Laura, I won't hurt you." He says and sits back down. I nod and turn my attention back on breakfast. I set the meal down on the table and we began eating. Ross stood up and began doing the dishes. "We better get going to practice." He says after. I nod and we walk to the car. Ross drove us to the set and we were greeted by the entire crew, including Raini and Calum. "Where were you?" Raini whispered to me. "I called you about ten times last night and you didn't pick up! I even went over to your house and you weren't there!" I grimaced. Calum gave Raini a shifty, fox like smile. "Laura was over at Ross' house the entire night." He told my friend. Raini gasped a little and looked at me, bug-eyed. "Laura…!" Raini squealed. She pulled me away. "What happened?" She asked me. I avoiding Raini and mumbled something unintelligent. Raini harrumphed and asked me again, "Laura, what happened? You might as well tell me now." I look up at Raini and cringed. "Look, before I tell you, I'm just going to say it now, but it isn't as bad as it seems." Raini nodded. I sighed and said it all in a rush, "LastnightRossandIwerecelebratingthattheintervieww entsowellandRosskissedme,sothatwasallreallynice,bu tthenwebothfeelasleepwhilehuggingeachotheronthesof aandwhenwewokeupmyfacewasonRoss'chestanditwasreall ystrangeandItotallyfreakedandohmygod,RainiIhavenoi deawhathteheckjusthappened!" Raini looked at me quizzically and put up her hands. "Laura, you're going to have to speak slower than that." She told me. I sigh and say it again, slower, only more quiet. This time, Raini's eyes bugged out to the size of hubcaps. "LAURA!" She yells. I flinch. Raini begins grinning crazily. "This is so exciting!" She squeals. I look at Raini, confused. "What? NO, this is not exciting! This is absolutely crazy!" I began pacing around the room. "How the heck did this happen?" I moaned. Raini sidled up to me. "Relax, Laura. It's not like he did anything, right? You guys just fell asleep. It's not like he had his shirt off or anything." I pictured in my mind Ross without his shirt and shuddered. "Good point." I say. Raini nodded. "See? Nothing happened. It was just a mishap, that's all." I nodded and we headed to the set together. The day droned on today, and I was feeling tired and moody afterwards. The director was in a bad mood, and suddenly, Megan's chatter was annoying. "I'm going into my trailer." I say shortly to the director after he was finished yelling at an intern for not getting his coffee right. The director waved me off and I walked into my trailer. I lie down on the couch and felt the sunlight come through the windows. I closed my eyes and heard the trailer door open up. "GO AWAY." I said and without opening my eyes, I groped for a pillow and hit my unwanted visitor. "Well, looks like someone is grumpy." Ross says. I open my eyes and find Ross leaning over the sofa, watching me playfully while clutching the pillow I threw at him. I moaned and turned to the sofa, digging my face into the fabric. "Just what I need." I mumbled sarcastically. Ross laughed and slid down to the seat next to me. "What's the matter, Laura? Is the director getting on your nerves again?" I faced him and gave him the stink eye. "I guess you could say that." I reply. I hoisted myself on one elbow. "What about you?" I ask. Ross sighed and bent his head back. "Yeah, it's been a pretty exhausting day for me, too." He told me. I laugh. "I think everyone on the set is bent on punishing us." Ross looked at me and raised his eyebrow. "You think?" That set us both laughing, which felt good. Ross looked at me and stroked my hair. His fingers were light and comforting. I sighed happily and rested my head on his shoulder. I could stay right here…

BANG!

I jumped up and turned around only to face the director. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Ross and me. "ROSS? LAURA?!" He yells, sending spittle all over us. I grimaced. "YOU TWO ARE SO IMMATURE!" He screams. "HERE I THOUGHT THAT LARUA WAS GOING TO GET, what did she call it? REST?! AND NOW ALL I SEE IS A SCANDAL HAPPENING RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES!" I flinched again as spit landed on my cheek. "Director, it's not what you think." Ross says calmly. The director's eyes bulged. "Oh, don't you pull that card with me, mister! YOU TWO ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!" Finally, I began laughing. I couldn't stop. It was all too funny. The director looked at me, bewildered by my reaction. "LAURA, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!" He shouts. I giggle. "Director, don't be so old fashioned. You know that Ross and I are together. What's wrong with two people having alone time?" The director opened his mouth and closed it, gaping like a fish. "Besides, why did you come to Laura's trailer, anyway?" Ross asked. He too, was close to laughter. The director sighed. "If you must know, we've got a quick meeting with the press about the new 'Austin and Ally' seasons, so hurry up and get your booties to the main building." With that, the director walked out of the door. Ross looks at me and raises his eyebrow. "'Booties'?" He asks quizzically. I shrug and we walked out of the door and to the main building. I had to protect my eyes against all of the sudden flashes of cameras. "Here we go again." Ross mumbles to me and I stifle a smile as we take our seats. I sat next to Raini, whose smile was frozen. "I hate these meetings." Raini murmurs to me from the corner of her mouth. "I hate it, too. Let's just get this over with." I murmur back. I quickly zone out as the questions are being directed to the director and I am suddenly brought back to earth when one of the reporters ask me a question. "Erm…what?" I ask, feeling warm at the cheeks. "We asked, how do you feel about the upcoming episodes where Austin and Ally break up? I mean, you and Ross are dating, so wouldn't it be challenging for your characters to pretend to fight while you are actually in a relationship?" Honestly, out of all questions, this is the question I'm asked? About my relationship with Ross? Inwardly, I scream. What is it with the media these days? I force a smile and laugh politely. "Well, to tell you the truth, Ross and I only recently began liking each other, so we don't really know how we're going to act out the fights between Austin and Ally. However, I think it will be slightly difficult, but I think I can manage if I tried hard enough." There. Let them figure out what that means. I turn my head to Ross as the next question is being directed to him. "Ross, there is an episode in the new season where Laura will be gone for a long time, and you want to know what's going on. I guess, according to your last events with Laura, this episode is relatable, is it not?" I can see the colors rising in Ross' cheeks. "Um, to tell you the truth, yes, I guess it can be kind of relatable, but I really don't see how these questions connect with 'Austin and Ally'." Ross says shortly. The director looked from Ross to me to the reporters. He stood up. "All of you. Out." The director says flatly to the reporters. The reporters gawked at the director. "You heard me. Out. Unless you came here to actually get info about 'Austin and Ally', you are dismissed." It was shocking to see about 75% of the reporters standing up and exiting the building. The rest of the meeting was rather awkward and silent after that.

Ross and I were still shaking our heads in disbelief. "Can you believe that?" Raini asked us. "It's like they only cared about you and Laura." Calum told Ross. "The director wasn't really pleased, I could tell." Raini added. I frowned. "I really hope that the director won't take this too seriously. I mean, there are going to be bad people out there in the world, right?" Ross put his arm around my shoulders. "I think the director is just shocked. I mean, I don't think this has ever happened to him before." I nodded and we walked around the set as the sun sunk lower and lower in the hills. Raini sighed and sat on the porch of the front building while Calum went to jog around the perimeter. Ross and I sat on a swing next to the building and cheered Calum on as he circled the set. I stood up and went to the top floor of the building, finding a sofa to sleep in. It was a long day, and I was ready to drop.

I woke up to the sound of a loud ringing noise. I leapt to my feet, only to jump back to the wall, because half of the room was covered in flames. I screamed as the fire roared. I ran down the back stairs and reached the main level. My heart nearly stopped. Everywhere I looked, fire blazed and crackled in a chaotic manner. I screamed again as a beam fell down in front of me. Smoke smothered the air. I fell to the ground, thinking of the advice that fire fighters gave me when I was five years old. Another beam fell across from me, just a couple of inches away from my face. I lost it. I stood up, and pressed myself against the wall. "HELP!" I screamed. "PLEASE!" A chunk of the feeling fell down next to me and I let out a whimper. Where was everyone?

"LAURA!" I almost fainted in happiness. "ROSS! HELP! I'M OVER HERE!" I yell. I watched, horrified as Ross ran into the building, dodging flames and jumping over fiery beams. "LAURA, I CAN'T GET ANY FURTHER! YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO JUMP!" He yelled. I shook my head. My legs were trembling. "LAURA, TRUST ME!" Ross yelled. I didn't know if I was crying or not. Either way, water was filling up in my eyes and I leapt across a beam in flames and into Ross. "Thank god, thank god…" Ross murmured as he hugged me close. "We have to get out of here." Ross said and he grabbed my hand. I saw the door and Ross pushed me to open it. My hands were slick with sweat. "Come on!" I yelled and the door swung open. I held the door out for Ross, and as I turned around, I was greeted with a loud yell of pain. My eyes widened and a long, high pitched scream exited from my mouth because right there, right behind the door that I had swung open to exit, was Ross, sprawled on the ground, a flaming beam on his leg. I grabbed Ross' hands and dragged him as fast as I could away from the fire and did not stop dragging him until I was aware that there were ambulances around me. "Ross, Ross, Ross, Ross…" I couldn't stop crying until a nurse gently pried my fingers away from Ross. "He's unconscious." Someone says. I couldn't tell who was talking. I was vaguely aware that Raini was hugging me, telling me that it was going to be okay as a nurse put burn medicine on my arm. It turns out that I was burned. I didn't feel it.

Ross, Ross, Ross, Ross…


	12. Chapter 12

**Whenever I get overwhelmingly good support, I try to write as quickly as I can so that I can update the story. So thank you guys so much! I've reached over 8,500 views today and I'm not quite sure if that is a lot or not, but I'm still really happy because well, to me, it's so AWESOMETASTEAFUL, you know? *laughs* I know what you're thinking: 'What the heck does 'awesometasteaful' mean?' Well, my dear friends, the word awesometasteaful comes from a book that I read when I was in 5th grade, and ever since I've been in love with the word and have been using it as much as I could! :) And I just have one more thing to share with you guys before you read my chapter. I watched STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS over the weekend and I'm just gonna say it right now, I'm officially a Star Trek nerd, mainly because Chris Pine was so awesome in it. +blushes+ BUT NO ONE CAN REPLACE ROSS, DON'T WORRY. :) Now, enough of that. Read on, read on, and enjoy! Don't forget to review! Hugs and kisses, katierosefun out!**

Chapter 12.

Ross—

I blinked my eyes open and closed, and every single time I opened my eyes, I shut them before I could grasp what was going on around me.

I could hear the faint beeping noises of what I think is some sort of monitor, and when I woke up, a nurse was taking care of my leg, which felt as though thousands of hornets had attacked it. My eyes drooped into sleep.

Each time I fell asleep, I woke up with sensations around me that I couldn't monitor into my head correctly. A quick brush of the hand from someone, Laura's scream, a wet towel wiping over my forehead, and most of all, the intense pain in my leg.

Fever spiked through my dreams, and suddenly, I'm in a nightmare that never ends. Flames dancing around my eyes, Laura screaming until she bled, a house crumbling down to ashes, I think I began shouting a couple of times. How many times did I have to watch these horrific moments over and over again? I hazily felt my body writhing around, jolting at certain times, and felt something soft making a crease in my cheek. I knew that I was screaming. I felt my throat burning as I yelled for my life. "SHUT IT OFF." I heard a stern voice say above me. I tried opening my eyes to see who was talking, but I felt a sharp sting in my arm that sent me back into sleep.

My eyes opened groggily, and I saw Laura's face swimming above. I blinked and Laura came more into focus around the edges. I wanted to open my mouth and say something, but all that came out was a low moan. "Ross, you're awake!" Laura says, at first I thought that it was just my vision, but there were tears welling in her eyes. I just stared back at Laura. She clasped her hands together and then she broke down. Tears were overflowing and running down her face, and she was shaking hard. I've never seen her like this. It was hard, but managed to move my hand and reach her quaking arm on my bed. "Laura." I croaked. "It's okay." Laura looked up at me and began crying again. "I'm sorry." She said, trying to wipe away her tears. "It's just…oh my god Ross, I thought that you were dead and you didn't wake up…" Laura buried her head in the sheets and whimpered. She put her head back up and sighed. A nurse came in, holding a clip board. "Wow, you're awake! That's great…" The nurse made a mark on her clip board. "Are you feeling any better, sweetie? Tell me, are you feeling dizzy, weak, anything out of the ordinary?" She asks me. I shook my head. The nurse made another mark on her board. "Alrighty then, everything seems to be in order. I'll give you two some alone time." With that, the nurse walked out of the room. Laura didn't speak again until the faint clicking noises of the nurse's high heels were gone. Laura took a shaky breath and whispered, "Ross, do you have any idea how long you might have been out?" I shook my head. "Three days. You didn't wake up for three days." She says. I moved my jaw a little to make sure that I could talk. "Three days?" I asked. Laura nodded.

I closed my eyes and tried to recall the most of what had happened. I remembered the fire in the main building…I was sitting at the porch and suddenly I smelled smoke from the first floor. It turns out that someone had accidently left the oven on for too long, along with the stove. We ran out to the front lawn, where we all watched, horrified, as flames licked at the building. We called the fire fighters and that was when I realized that Laura was missing. I can still feel the cold rush of panic rising in my stomach when I noticed that she was gone. As soon as I realized it, we all stopped in scared silence as we heard Laura's terrified screams on the top floor of the building. I didn't think. I was frozen. I told Calum to call the hospital just in case Laura was injured and I ran into the building and saw Laura pressed against the wall. We got through the room alright, and just when she was opening the door, a beam fell from the ceiling and it was moving too fast for me to jump out of the way. The beam fell on my leg, I think. The next thing I knew, I was screaming and yelling on the ground. The fire was eating away at my flesh. I remember feeling Laura tug me away out to the fresh air, and then I was being pushed into a vehicle. I remember vaguely hearing Laura screaming my name before I blacked out.

"Three days." I repeated. Laura nodded again. "Ross, I can't believe that you would risk yourself like that. Please…seeing you hurt was just…" Laura's sentence drifted off. Before I could answer, Calum and Raini walked in. Calum rushed by me and said all in a hurry, "Ross, are you feeling okay? Are you feeling normal? ANSWER ME ROSS!" I jump a little. "Calum, I'm fine." I said slowly. Calum breathed, relieved and then said, "Are you sure? Are you feeling anything strange?" I shook my head. "No more than usual." Calum sighed and sat down. Raini crossed her arms and gave Laura and me a devil eye. "This is getting really old, you two. First Ross gets sick. Then Laura almost drowns, get kidnapped, don't forget about the fact that she got a bullet through her stomach, and now Ross passes out for a couple of days since his leg was on fire. Honestly, people, you two have more drama than soap operas during maroon season!" Laura gives her friend a quizzical look. "How does that make sense?" Raini shrugged. "I don't really know. I just wanted to make a comparison of how much drama you two have." I smiled dryly. Even Laura giggled a little bit. "I just can't believe that happened." Calum says sadly. "How the heck would something like this happen?" Raini shrugged. "Well, the director did say that someone in the staff left the stove and oven on." Calum gave Raini an unsatisfied look. "I know what he said! I'm just really surprised." Laura rested a hand on Calum's shoulder. "Who isn't?" I closed my eyes and let their words drift away. "Sh!" I heard Laura whisper. "Come on, I think we should leave him to rest." I heard a faint click of the door closing and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, I was notified that I was to stay in the hospital for another week. "It's okay, Ross." Laura told me one day when she visited. "The director has everything under control and has postponed this week's episode." I nodded listlessly and stared out the window. Laura smiled sadly at me and brushed her hand against my hair. "Does it hurt a lot?" She whispered. I looked at her in the eye and knew immediately that she was still in shock over the last few events. "As long as you're safe, I won't feel hurt." I say softly. "Okay." Laura says quietly. She continued to brush her fingers in my hair until I fell asleep.

I don't think a week has ever taken so long to pass. I spent most of the days sleeping or talking to Laura, Calum, and Raini. Finally, the last day came and Laura drove me home. "Ross, thanks for helping me out there." She told me before I went into my house. I gave Laura a smile and hugged her. "I'll do anything to keep you protected." I say and I go inside the house. I turned on the shower and began washing my body. I needed to use crutches to get around, so I grabbed on to a ledge on the shower to support myself. After, I tugged on some clothes and went into my room. I turned on my phone and realized that Laura had called me. I pressed on Laura's number and she picked up on the first ring.

"Hey. You called?" I say when she picks up. "Yeah." Laura answers. "What's up?" I ask carelessly, sitting on my bed. "Ross, my birthday is coming up." She says. "That's awesome!" I answer. I could hear Laura smiling as she replied. "Well, I'm holding a party a week from now at my house next to the beach. You better come." I laugh. "Why would I miss my girlfriend's birthday?" I say playfully and then I stopped. I heard Laura pausing, too. I savored the word in my mind.

Girlfriend.

Huh.

I heard Laura's voice catch as she asks, "You think of me as your girlfriend?" I felt my cheeks burn. "Well, yes. I mean, if that's okay with you. Of course, we can just call each other pals like we used to and I know that it must be really awkward for you since I'm calling you my girlfriend and I'll stop if you want and I guess I'm just really happy that you and I are together. I mean, not together, but dating and liking each other. I mean…" I felt my cheeks burn hotter and hotter with every word I said and was about to hang up so I could go punch myself when I heard Laura laughing. "Hey, what did I do?" I ask, but I was laughing just as hard as she was. Laura giggled and replied, "Ross, it's just that you sound so NERVOUS and it's really funny and-" Laura breaks off laughing again. I smile. "So?" I say. "It's because I used to feel that way around you before." She replied. "Wait a second. Used to?" I ask, quizzical. Laura giggles again. "Yeah, I'm not that nervous anymore because I trust you and I know that I like you, and you like me." I felt a happy, light feeling in my chest. "Oh." I said. Laura laughs. "You have a way with words." She tells me sarcastically. I smile. "Yes, Laura, I do." I reply. Laura is still laughing and then she tells me that she has to hang up. I put my phone down and smile to myself as I lay in bed, dreaming about Laura smiling in my head.

I wake up drowsily as my alarm began ringing. Walking like a zombie, I stumbled into the shower and got out, working on breakfast. Just as I was about to get to my car, my phone began ringing. I checked who the caller was and picked it up when I realized that it was Calum. "ROSS YOU HAVE TO COME HERE RIGHT NOW!" I rubbed my ears and said, "Wait, what?! Calum, what are you talking about?" I heard Calum sighing impatiently. "I WAS RIGHT! THE FIRE WASN'T ACCIDENTAL! SOMEONE SET THE BUILDING ON FIRE! YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT RIGHT NOW!" I clicked off my phone and ran to the car, my heart racing. Who the heck would want to set the building on fire? I drove as fast as I could to the set and found Laura and Raini talking to each other with a serious face on. I took out my crutches and hobbled to them. "What's going on? Who did it?" I ask. Laura wordlessly point at a body being carried out to an ambulance. "What the…?" I let my sentence drift off and gave a panicked look to Laura. "Is he…?" Laura shook her head. "Turns out that he was an anti-fan against you and Laura, so he sort of took his anger out with fire." Raini told me. I looked at Laura and put a hand on her arm. She was as pale as the moon, her eyes wide. Then the tears came.

I held her until she stopped.


	13. Chapter 13

**So this is where our story says goodbye. I hate saying farewell, but it has come...the final chapter. I just want to take this time to thank all of the followers of my story and supporters~ Badefan foreverandever, BecaJesse13, Cataniagirl, Chicgirly, Cutedew, DoodleDooo, EileenChang, Frenchie12, Googly Eyed Crazy Monkeys, HaileyLH, Isabellurs,JEMILYLOVER1234, Laraaram, MericelM,PurpleLuv2Write,R5RossLynchFan23, RoseWeasley929, StarRose2011, Tomboy22, Wghs567, Wisegirl4eva, animaldom123,deeeboo102, .779, jazzygirl97, kickinitforever, langea,lizju999, lucyluvr24, nightmist379, purpleponny, rauraauslly, rauradorkable, , spaztasticlovatic, stephany9911, supergabbi18, traitc, yami5507, the guest users, the guest user named Nicole, and of course, all of the future supporters of this story. :) Thank you guys so much. You guys are the reason why I smile every time I log onto the computer. :) I love you guys so much and I will never forget all of the support you guys gave me. 3 Luv ya bunches, katierosefun. )**

Chapter 13.

Laura—

I didn't want to look up. I really didn't want to. I just couldn't believe it. Was the world really against all of this?

Ross patted me on the back. "Laura, it's fine." He says calmly. "It's just an anti-fan, that's all." The director walked up to us and his face was grim. "I can't believe all of this nonsense." He says angrily. Raini glanced at the director. "What's the matter? Did they find out who the person was?" The director nodded. "You guys ready to hear it?" Calum gives the director a critical look. "Will this be a surprise to us, or will it be a bit too obvious?" He asks. The director sighs. "I guess since all of the trouble has been going around, it won't be so much of a surprise to you all if I said that the burner was Jack, right?" I felt something numbing inside of me. "So…Jack's dead?" Ross said slowly. I looked at him, and saw that his eyes were draining away, looking a bit lost and hazed. The director nodded. "Afraid so." He answers. I plop down on the ground and stare at the ambulance that was slowly driving away. "It's not much of a surprise anymore." I say in a low voice. "That's what's scaring me." Ross nodded, and he hugged me again while I blinked my tears back.

"Cheer up, Laura, it's your birthday!" Raini tells me as she fixes me up for the party. She ties up my hair and grins at me. I try to smile, but it dies on my lips and I look down at the floor. "It's just…so frustrating, you know?" I whispered. Raini's smile faded away and she looks at me in the eye. "Laura, don't be so down. It'll be alright." She says. I look up gratefully. "You think so?" I ask pleadingly. Raini nodded. "I know so." She reassured me and pushed me out of my room. "Now, let's get going to the pool and par-tay!" I couldn't help but to laugh as I started up the car.

My birthday party was at the pool, and I couldn't help but to feel excited despite the solemnness that bit at me like a swarm of pesky flies. I was wearing a simple bikini and a cover up and I flashed back to our day at the beach, where Jack had captured me. I waved off the thought. I wasn't going to let the bad memories ruin my day. I got out of the car and Raini followed me to the pool. I started up the music and we waited out for cars to drive in. Sure enough, Ross and Calum were there first. Afterwards, more and more guests filled in and soon the party had reached a full house. The place was filled with laughter and shouts, whoops and hollers, and overall, the happiness was overfilling. Ross hobbled over to me with a mischievous look on his face. "Come on, Laura." He says happily and I jump into the pool. Ross wasn't allowed to swim, but he was allowed to sit by the water and dip his feet in occasionally. I think the soda may have made me giddy because at one point, I leapt from the pool and planted a warm kiss on his lips. The entire crowd began laughing and making mushy 'aw' sounds. Ross grinned at me and whispered, "Happy Birthday, Laura." I smiled and sat down next to him. I sighed happily as we stood there, gazing at the stars.

Raini and Calum pulled out a birthday cake and everyone began singing the birthday song for me. "Make a wish, Laura!" Raini squeals. I looked at Ross, whose eyes were dancing merrily in the candlelight. I closed my eyes and blew the light out. Ross put an arm around my shoulder. "What did you wish for?" He asked quietly. I looked at him and giggled. "I'm not going to tell." I said. Ross smiled. "You can trust me. I'll make the wish come true." He said. I looked at him in the eye and said, "I wish that we could live a happy life, without all of the sadness and the bad things." Ross smiled and he whispered, "I'll make it happen." I looked at him, confused. I didn't know what he meant.

But soon, I would.

_Four years later…_

It was the exact same thing. Ross and I were both twenty one years old, and we were celebrating my birthday together. He and I are together for about four years now, and it's been happier than I had ever dared to hope. Raini, Calum, Ross and I were all huddled together under a tree, looking up at the stars as we had so many years ago. Ross sighed happily and he pulled me from under the tree. "Laura, can you stand up for a minute?" He asks me. I stare at him quizzically. "Why?" I asked, confused. "Please?" Ross asks pleadingly. I rolled my eyes teasingly and stood up. Ross knelt down on one knee and suddenly, my heart began pounding fast. He pulled out a tiny box from his jacket and opened it. Inside the box was a ring of gold with a diamond perched on the center. It glittered and gleamed brighter than the stars in the sky. "Laura Marano," Ross took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?" I felt my heart thrumming even louder now and dared to look at Raini and Calum. Calum was smiling wide, and Raini was trying hard not to cry. I looked back at Ross and smiled.

"Yes, Ross. I will." I say.

Life after that was amazing. Ross and I got married, as promised, and we spent our life together. We now have a son who looks exactly like Ross, but Ross had argued that he has my smile.

Sometimes, there are particularly bad times when I flashback to the times when I hid from Adeline or when I was hiding from Jack. Those memories still haunt me, but Ross gently pulls me back and protects me. Just as he said in my birthday, he said that he'll make my wish come true.

And he did.


End file.
